Movie review by: Michelle Tan
Click here for pictures Love Letter is a poignant and melancholy
movie that has its light and comedic moments. These are injected subtly without
overwhelming or disrupt the story line, rather it complements it by reminding us of the
carefree ways of our youth. Though the action-addicts may find this a tade slow, I truly
appreciate writer-director Shunji Iwai's good judgement in taking his time to slowly
unravel the intricacies of the main characters' thoughts and emotions. He too has
beautifully captured the picturesque snowy Japanese countryside and mountains. Simply
breathtaking.
The movie is about a young woman, Hiroko, who had lost her fiancé, Itsuki Fujii, in a
mountain climbing accident two years ago. One day, she found his old school yearbook and
wrote a letter to his old address, though it no longer exists. She never expected a reply,
but a reply she did receive. Her letter had been delivered to another Itsuki Fujii, who
had been her fiancé's classmate. Thus begins a fascinating relationship between the 2
women through their letters.
As Hiroko longs to know more of the man she never really knew and lost, she fills it
with the borrowed memories of the female Fujii. She implores Fujii to tell her about him,
and flashbacks fill in school days, as her new pen-pal tries to remember all that she can
about the boy that shares her name. Her school days were not very pleasant ones as they
both were incessantly teased for having the same name. There were many light moments and I
certainly enjoyed these flashback scenes.
Though there weren't any romantic notion between the 2 Fujiis, Hiroko became jealous
when she saw the female Fujii's photo in the old yearbook as they both looked so alike. It
was a question she couldn't have an answer to; that her fiancé choose her because she
looked so much like a childhood sweetheart he couldn't have?
It's an intriguing theme, and played out beautifully. The characters do reveal
themselves in due time, and the female Fujii's grandfather is not to be underestimated.
Beneath the exterior of an old near-senile man is a strong-willed man who carried the
burden of the death of his son.
I find this a beautifully crafted movie, pacing slowly and in its own time to reveal
the surprising ending. Really tugs at my heartstrings. With pointed references to Proust's
Remembrance of Things Past (very very appropriate and great timing), there are literary
underpinnings here that makes this drama more substantial than merely a story of
unrequited love. It is a journey of self-discovery.
Two years after her
fiance's death, Hiroko tries to exorcise her grief by mailing him a letter. A letter sent
to heaven. She did not expect a reply, but a reply she did receive. It was from a woman in
her fiance's old home-town, a woman who incidentally shares the same name. And thus begins
a fascinating relationship between these two women through their letters to each other,
journeying to self-discovery and remembrance of things past. 
