Monday, November 29, 2004

FILM: Love Letter (1995)

I watched a Japanese movie called Love Letter this past weekend and I can't shake off this film. To my surprise, I was extremely moved by it. I can't stop thinking about it for some reason. The last movie that had this kind of impact on me was coincidentally another Japanese movie called Spirited Away. That movie lingered with me for weeks. I guess it's because both films tell hauntingly beautiful stories. A good story has staying power.

I don't want to give too much of the movie away because it's full of surprises. The story begins with Hiroko Watanabe, a woman who lost her fiance, Itsuki Fujii, two years ago to a climbing accident. She happens to look through his junior high school yearbook and finds his home address. On a whim, she decides to write a letter to him and sends it to his old address. And she gets a reply back from Itsuki! The story unfolds from there. Love Letter is a drama but it has its funny moments. This film made a deep impression on me, and I highly recommend it.