Love Letter (1995)

Original title

ラブレター

Directed by

Shunji Iwai

Genre

drama film, romance film

Country

Japan

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.8 of 10 from 268 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A woman sends a letter to her deceased fiancé's childhood address and receives a reply. The reply comes from a woman with the same name who knew her fiancé when they were teenagers. They exchange letters to uncover memories of the man they both knew.

tendermelancholicslow-pacednostalgicpoignantromanticbittersweetgentle

What happens

Love Letter (Japanese: ラブレター, Hepburn: Rabu retā) is a 1995 Japanese romantic film written, directed and edited by Shunji Iwai in his debut feature film and starring Miho Nakayama. The majority of the film was shot on the island of Hokkaidō, primarily in Otaru. It achieved great success at the box office in Japan and gained popularity in other East Asian countries, particularly South Korea. Remarkably, it was one of the first Japanese films to be shown in South Korean cinemas since World War II, garnering 645,615 admissions and ranking as the tenth highest-grossing general release of the year. Shunji Iwai collaborated with cinematographer Noboru Shinoda, resulting in a film celebrated for its evocative winter cinematography. Pop singer Miho Nakayama was cast in the dual roles of Hiroko Watanabe and Itsuki Fujii, while teenager Miki Sakai made her movie debut and won the 'Newcomer of the Year' Award at the Japanese Academy Awards for her portrayal of a young Itsuki Fujii. Etsushi Toyokawa and Takashi Kashiwabara played the main male roles as Akiba Shigeru and the male Itsuki Fujii, respectively. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the film, a 4K remaster was released in select theaters in Japan on 4 April 2025. The American distribution rights for the film were acquired by Fine Line Features, which released it in theaters under the new title When I Close My Eyes. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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