Letters from Marusia / Actas de Marusia

The film sheds light on one of the shameful chapters in Chile's history – the brutal suppression of a workers' uprising at the saltpeter mines in 1907. The screenplay for the film by Chilean director Miguel Littín is based on a novel by Patricio Manns, written from the accounts of eyewitnesses to the mass killings and torture of workers. Possibly due to moral and ethical considerations, scenes of soldiers' violence against workers and their wives in the torture chamber were cut from the film, somewhat diminishing the emotional understanding of the struggle for rights and a decent life.