Opiniones de usuarios

I didn't find any part of it boring! The only regret of mine is that I have not seen this film in the cinema. Instead I watched it on vcd. Nevertheless, the beautiful shots came through, and the story all the more touching.

May sound silly that identical girls are related to the same man. But in fact, you wouldn't have any trouble identifying which girl is which, because they are so "different". One is sad and soft-spoken, the other humorous and tomboyish.

A light and funny show, and you'll sigh when it's over and hope it isn't yet. The ending is the climax, you'll love it!

Wonderful performance by Nagayama Miho! She speaks a few simple words (won't tell you what words) and I felt like crying, not because it was sad.

Believe me, watch it and smile for the rest of the week as you recall those "high school days".

Love Letter: 9/10

The first 30+ minutes of "Love Letter" were quite boring, but if you ever watched the movie again, knowing how the plot unfolds, they'd be anything but boring. The premise of this is cool and a little creepy: a woman, enstranged by her husband's untimely death, sends a letter to his old address. She knows that the house was knocked down and built over by a highway years ago, but does it anyway, perhaps out of desperation. Unexpectedly, she gets a reply. From there, the story begins, and it takes a much different direction than how the plot sounds on paper. I can't really say too much without spoiling it, but this is a tragic movie, yet beautiful at the same time. There are flashback sequences that make you really care about several characters in the movie, including the deceased man (who is shown as a school boy in the flashbacks). This is so well set out, and almost brought me to tears at times. Movies like this are what make me want to see more and more Asian cinema, because this was an absolute epic.

On the surface, this is a simple yet moving love story. However, through its twin protagonists, this film explores our relation to the past and how various parts of it may be idealised, suppressed, or distorted, in part based on our assumptions about others that usually go unstated and unchallenged. This latter point is reinforced through a subplot involving (female) Itsuki's grandfather and a past tragedy.

The film is very striking visually, in turns showing sweeping landscapes and intimately detailed portraits. Emotions are at times powerfully conveyed by a camera movement accompanied by a well chosen musical score. The limited use of a hand-held camera jarred with the serene beauty of the rest of the film, which no doubt was the intent, but I found it to be a minor distraction.

All in all, a very poetic missive delivered to us by the skilled hand of Shunji Iwai.

Carl Jung said "What is not brought to consciousness comes to us as fate". For Hiroko Watanabe, the passing of two years has not lessened the pain brought on by the death of her young fiancé, Itsuki Fujii (Takashi Kashiwabara) in a mountain climbing accident. She longs for healing but is unable to let go of his sudden death. Fate intervenes, however, and a single letter she writes to her deceased lover as a whim sets in motion a chain of events that allows her to discover the untold secrets of their connection. Written and directed by Shunji Iwai and based on his novel of the same name, Love Letter is a simple but very moving love story about two people who must redeem the past in order to be fully alive in the present.

While looking through her fiancé's old school yearbook after the memorial ceremony, Hiroko wants to find something of Itsuki that she can hold onto, some token that will allow her to let go. Finding his name in the yearbook, she jots down the address associated with the name Itsuki Fujii and mails a short letter addressed to him in Otaro in northern Japan. She asks "How are you? and tells him, "I am fine". Thinking that she is sending a letter to heaven, she is supported by Akiba (Etsushi Toyokawa), a close friend of Itsuki who has fallen in love with her and strongly wants her to complete the past. To her surprise she receives a reply and, after the exchange of several letters, discovers that her correspondent is not a disembodied spirit but a very alive woman with the same exact name as her fiancé. Even more astonishing is that both male and female Itsuki Fujiis were classmates together in Junior High School.

While there is some initial confusion stemming from the fat that both Hiroko and the female Itsuki are performed by the superb Miho Nakayama in a dual role, each character's personality is so individual that any confusion is soon dispelled. As the letters continue, Itsuki uncovers some hidden truths about herself, her father's death, and her relationship with the shy student with the same name. Bringing to light memories from the past that she had long buried, she remembers how they were teased by fellow classmates for having the same name, how they developed a bond while working together in the library, and how the male Itsuki, checking out books from the library, wrote his name on five checkout cards saying to her in English "straight flush".

Sensing that Hiroko's quest for completion has reached a dead end, Akiba takes her on a trip to Otaru to meet the female Itsuki and to search for some memento of her fiancé. In a memorable scene in which, in the words of author Marion Woodman, "the eternal crosses the transitory", Hiroko cries out to the mountain that holds the body of her lost love, "O-genki desu ka? "Watashi wa genki desu", "How are you? I am fine", and the words echo through the winter night to be repeated by the female Itsuki sitting in her home miles away.

Love Letter is a film of exquisite cinematic poetry that explores the subjectivity of memory and the idea of redemption. Author Robertson Davies says, "One always learns one's mystery at the price of one's innocence" Like gemstones of coral and quartz that fill our life with joy, Itsuki Fujii came into the lives of two young women, then as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone, yet now both Hiroko and the female Itsuki have established a strange connection and are, in the words of Elizabeth Lesser, "no longer dead, but alive with something luminous and solid burning in their core".

Itsuki Fujii writes letter for her dead boyfriend who died in climbing accident few years ago. And all of a sudden, she get's reply.

The movie is warm and beautiful description of longing for a lost love and nostalgia. Miho Nakayama is ever so beautiful and innocent, and her acting as both Itsuki Fujii and Hiroko Watanabe is just professional. I rather say, couldn't be better. The music and the very atmosphere of the movie is somewhat Japanese, it has something really distant and beautiful. In movie which deals with love, always good sign is that if it does have very few or none scenes where love is physical such as kissing or making love. This movie shows love as somewhat ideal very mindfull and platonic. Works for me, for you, I don't know. Really beautiful movie what I can recommen to everyone. I rated this 10, since couldn't find any reason to give 9.

As if there are any more comments that need to be written about how great this film was....

Here is another.

There are many factors of the story, and the director(also the writer), Shuji Iwai, tells them beautifully and seamlessly.

Each story could stand on it's own, but in fact it is each story that moves the film.

Though it originally is about Watanabe Hiroko, the character Fujii Itsuki(female) takes over the story to the end.

This is a movie that makes you think about it long after it's over. That's why I bought it. So, I can watch it when ever I want. There are no life lessons to be learned(except maybe listen to the "crazy" grandpa) nor a message to take away from this. Yet, the film grips you until it's finished. Wrapped up in these women's lives and memories, and scenic cinematography that Japanese films are well known for.

In conclusion. I'm still thinking about it.

This is one of the best romantic movies in my life. It doesn't have a kiss scene or even a hug scene like typical Hollywood movies, except for scenes recalling the past. The setting of the movie is winter in Japan. The director Suhnji Iwai made this film with many poetic scenes. I can recall the time when I was in high school. This movie reminded me of the pure feeling of love.

Hiroko (Miho Nakayama) goes to her ex-boyfriend's memorial service. Itsuki Fujii died on a mountain climbing accident two years ago. When she visits the house of her ex-boyfriend's mother, she finds his high school year book and takes notes of his address. She struggles to overcome the grief coming from losing him at that moment. She sends a letter to Itski Fujii because of romantic reason. Surprisingly, she receives an answer from him. Hiroko knows the address does not exist any longer after it was demolished for a highway construction.

Another female, Itsuki Fujii is a Hiroko's ex-schoolmate who shared the school days with him. Coincidentally she has the same name Itsuki Fujii and she tells many stories about male Itsuki's school life when they were young. Corresponding with letters for that time between them, Hiroko looks back on Itsukii's past and feels slightly jealous about female Itsukii. Moreover, female Itsukii finds another truth that she didn't know about the past. It seems like they are in a love triangle beyond time.

Miho Nakayama plays roles of two women-Hiroko and female Itski -at the same time. Her acting is impressive, especially her crying monologue is very famous. The story is sad but she does not play her role with grief all the time. She acts with the sad feeling in moderation. With her beautiful voice, her acting sparkles pure and elegant.

The director made this film with special camera effects. Some parts of this movie don't have the clear scene and instead he used the foggy, dreamlike scene intentionally. I think he wants to express his feeling with great delicacy, not directly.

Considering only this story, it may look boring but it isn't boring at all while I watch this movie. It is filled with enormous mountain views and poetic music. The background piano music is very popular among people.

In this film, the actors don't say many words but we can feel more than their lines because the dialogue is full of suggestions.The images from this movie still linger in my mind.

This love story begins with a memorial service for Watanabe Hiroko's ex-boyfriend, Fujii Itsuki. Although he has been dead for a year, it still feels awkward when the dead ex-boyfriend's best friend begins to flirt with Watanabe. Around this time, she decides to send a letter to the old Fujii residence, despite having been demolished for highway construction.

I think it's essential for anybody who watches this film to realize that after this point, a second character is introduced who is played by the same actress who plays Watanabe Hiroko. She has a cold when making her first appearance, so this is the best means of distinguishing between the two characters, besides their respective settings.

The love story is very culturally Japanese (modern), with the natural reactions of the characters representing very accurately current gender roles and attitudes in Japan. I believe however the story's beauty can be easily appreciated worldwide.

Go ahead, watch this movie. To know what was world like before cell phones took over. These kind of films appeal to a certain niche of audience. That type of audience is growing thin. There is nothing loud about this film. Everything in this film from story, setup, music, dialogues, screenplay is one dimensional. Don't mistake me, movie is really good. It's another of those stories that are trademark of japanese sweet romantic dramas. It doesn't give you any philosophy or doesn't carry any underlying meaning. It is just pure emotions. Both girls are clueless about the mysterious guy they knew. I mean one of them was even married to him, and the other girl went three years to school with him and yet none knew who he was, what drove that person, why he was so silent, why he could never say what was on his mind and even the audience will not learn anything about the guy even after the completion of movie. Such writing, where there nothing in particular happens yet so much happens. Basically this whole movie is one type of emotion......longing.

Okay, at first view I had to admit the dialogue and the the intercourse between the people seemed rather incongruous and false, somehow very strange in terms of social relations and interrelations, but, the second time, man it's it just might be Japanese mental setting that differs from the usual Hollywood stuff, still, the Idea, I mean, I'm a Poet and appreciate this kind of playing, that s what I thought, but man, its everything but, its, just so true, and think about it sending a letter to a dead sweetheart, its sentimental but also very true in the poetic sense of the word, and the dualism, the way the persons intertwine, all this is very unwestern and refreshing, since this movie was the directors breakthrough in the west.

And well, in the summer of 2005 I didn't understand this movie, tried to analyze it as I watched, but then at the end when the music started I cried, all thru the credits, it was purifying, a very true experience a very true movie, very touching, very poetic, and VERY Japanese.

The best movie I've seen.

I'm still trying to decide whether SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY is the greatest movie ever made or not. If it were the greatest movie of all time, you'd think it would be a bit better known surely? But I really can't think of any movie I've ever seen that was better. This is obviously something of a difficult position for Shunji Iwai to find himself in, in relation to me. If the first movie of his that I saw was the greatest movie ever, then surely no matter what efforts he goes to he's never really going to impress me again.

Knowing that SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY is very different to the rest of his filmography, in terms of themes and sheer scale of the production, I was quite apprehensive about paddling deeper into Shunji Iwai waters. The rest of his movies don't/didn't really sound like "my sort of thing".

LOVE LETTER is based on a strange premise of unlikely coincidence. Two years after his death, Itsuki Fujii's fiance Hiroko (Miho Nakayama) is still having a hard time moving on with her life. When she comes across his old address in his high school yearbook, Fujii's mother tells her that the house was demolished for a highway years ago. Hiroko hence figures that it is safe to send a letter there, seeking closure.

"Itsuki Fujii, O' Genki desu ka?", she writes. "Genki Desu, Hiroko Watanabe".

("How are you, I am well")

Not the most heartfelt expression of mourning, it must be said. Still it makes her feel better... but when she receives a reply to the letter she is a little confused.

"Mostly well... but I have a cold now. Itsuki Fujii"

Is it a letter from heaven? She would like to believe it is. The viewer, however, knows that the reply is actually from a different Itsuki Fujii - a woman (Miho Nakayama) who lives in the same town where Hiroko's fiance grew up. Once the confusion is eventually cleared up, Hiroko and Itsuki begin to write to each other as pen-pals. It turns out that Itsuki Fujii (female) was in the same class as Itsuki Fujii (male), so she tells Hiroko stories and memories from her youth.

The attentive amongst you may have noticed that Miho Nakayama is credited twice above. No, it's not an even more unlikely same-name co-incidence. The same actress plays both Hiroko and Itsuki... I suppose it worked out cheaper that way. The movie is hence hinged heavily upon her performance(s), as most of the 115 minutes is filled with her either writing or reading letters to/from herself.

Thankfully, she is absolutely fantastic in both roles. I think I would have cast her as all the other characters too if I were directing. Thankfully, Shunji Iwai is more sensible than me and kept it to a more manageable 2 parts.

A movie about 2 people writing letters to each other sounds kind of boring, right? The movie is filled with such gorgeous music and imagery that it never gets at all boring though, and Miho Nakayama has such a beautiful voice (and face for that matter) that I could happily listen to her talk for a very long time.

It's not all letter writing though - we also get invited in to see all the little details of both women's lives, and through flashbacks we see quite a bit of the two Itsukis' youth as well (the young actor & actress playing these roles are also very good).

You probably gathered by now that I enjoyed the movie... a lot in fact. It is an absolutely beautifully crafted piece of cinema in every aspect, and utterly fascinating and beautiful to watch. It's a slow movie... at nearly 2 hours it could maybe have benefited from the tiniest bit of editing perhaps... but an incredibly powerful one. I have to admit that it left me in tears when it finished, and I doubt if there are a dozen other movies that have ever had that effect on me.

There is no doubt in my mind that Shunji Iwai is a god of modern cinema. His movies are so well crafted it's almost like he's ripping his talent out of his body and shoving it right up in your face... but not quite so disturbing as that would be. Kurosawa, Kubrick, Iwai... not sounding incongrous to me at the moment. All demonstrate a transcendent understanding of film as a medium, and make almost every other film maker out there look like an amateur!

i've seen this film more than once.

and i would watch it again and again.

one of Iwai's greatest work. aside from UNDO. [ or was is UNDO? ].

you'd have to watch it well to realize it. each part is important each part is an additional twist to a twist.

i'd really love to tell the story here. but i just say i'd recommend that you watch it. it was really beautiful. i love the ending, where those high school kids unraveling the very secret to the story. it was well in place, you'd wish for more... i guarantee. you'd be irritated 'coz you'd just wish for more about this story...

it was a very good film and i would recommend everyone to watch it.

This is one of the most deeply romantic films I have ever seen, and it does not even contain a kiss, that I recall. I do not go out of my way to see love stories, but this one really snuck up on me. I saw it at the Cleveland Film Festival earlier this year, and then only because it was one of a handful that were chosen to be shown again representing the best shown in the previous quarter century for their 25th anniversary. I definitely found out why when half the theater is cried their eyes out. I even shed a tear or two, and I have NEVER cried at a movie before, at least as an adult. Simply amazing, and a crime that it is not on video.

This is one of the best movies that I've ever seen!! In the beginning the story moves a bit slowly and the two characters that Nakayama plays confused me a bit, but it really started to pick up my interest when the "high school days" part started. From there begins an emotional ride of reminiscence and camaraderie. It was truly beautiful...

When the most famous scene of the movie played (we all know what that one is ^^), I was in tears!! The ending, the climax, was also tear-jerking in a much more subtle way. Maybe I just love crying during dramatic movies... But if you're like me in that way, then you will LOVE this movie.

-Note: It's not available in the US; I picked it up in Thailand on VCD. The weird thing is that I only chose the title because of the cover, and it turned out to be one of my favorite movies!!-

After reading "Love Letter", I was almost overwhelmed by the snow that runs through it all the time. When I cast it into the film, it was strange and special, and it also showed a sense of fluidity, and the feeling of passing away. In particular, it is believed that the atmosphere created by the two passages about the small incidents that occurred in the school at Fujii is the whole light. The two were named and looked at each other at the same time. The boy's face was disdainful, and the girl's expression was unexpected and shy. At the election meeting of the class cadre, the boy's speechlessness, scorn and anger, the girl's cowardice in tears In the school library, a boy with a silent face leaning against a white curtain reading a book, a bangs girl with a forehead blown by a girl in front of a writing desk; riding a bicycle on school roads in parallel with the occasional prank, the girl left after watching the success Lips and smiles in the eyes when looking at the back; in the bicycle shed after dark, the girl struggled to shake the pedal lighting, and the boy obviously deliberately and pretended to be indifferent to procrastination; The feelings of love begin early, the bizarre behavior of the consciously mature girls; plus the natural scenery that is not easy to be noticed: the breeze flicks and the sun shines through the window. Every detail is slashing the senses. Toshii Iwai filmed our junior high school days with puberty. He succeeded in deceiving all the audiences who were touched by this, including me who was in a solitary bed. He let us who have already walked this road, and we will say goodbye to the history of students. When we look back, we forget those nasty rudeness, ignorance, ignorance, and intellect, and only remember the seemingly pure and gorgeous fragments, like that paragraph. Lu has never been flawless. As I was being beaten, I reminded myself from time to time: They are all fakes.

Many of the beautiful things that are missed are not that we do not want to seize. Ordinary family conditions, the expectations of loved ones, and the ideals we want to achieve, we are not always so brave as teenagers, maybe we just remember her or his warm smile in the heart. In this sweetness I never wanted to admit, after many years, I gradually learned to face life and face loss. Just like Watanabe Hiroko, shouting "How are you? I'm fine!" To the valley where Fujii Tree was killed is a deep love and nostalgia.

In the library, Toshii Iwai deliberately made the camera slightly overexposed and dreamlikely beautiful. She looked back at the white curtains blown by the wind and the falling cherry blossom petals, remembering the past that was no longer chasing, quiet and gentle. She turned and left, determined and reluctant.

No matter how many years later, these days will always warm the heart again.

A tragic, but touching tale unfolds through the remembrance of the two leads about the passed away fiancée of one of them. Miho Nakayama is wonderful in the double role. I must admit I got a little bit confused by who's who though. For those who haven't seen it, Fuji Itsuki is the one with a cold that lives in a house in Otaru, Hokkaido.

I know the idea of romantic movies is to live in on the fantasy, but a little too much silly dialog takes that away for me. Then again, I never was much for this particular romantic style of movie, as Wong Kar-Wai's 'In the Mood for Love' is much more up my ally. I may read a bit harsh with regards to Shunji Iwai compared to the other reviews I've seen, frankly it's quite an enjoyable movie, but the thing is he's just no Proust.

There's no hard crying, no shouting into the sky, but the shock took place deep in my heart.

Give credit to the director, great story-telling technique. Actually, he expressed this film in a "light and plain" way, just like the flow of water, but sooner or later you'll feel the powerful waterfall.

I am not a Japanese, but in my view, this film is one of the best romance movies ever made. And it's one of my all-time favourites, too~

(Hey, if you don't know Japanese, I suggest you to follow the subtitle carefully, otherwise you won't understand what has happened.)

10 out of 10 :)

This movie draws the main character's mind delicately.The flashback of the love between Hiroko and his fiancé Itsuki is very beautiful.The choice of sound track is also great. The story is of course interesting. The exchanging letters between Hiroko and her Fiancé Itsuki's classmate Itsuki she has exactly same name with her fiancé is interesting.This movie draws Hiroko's jealousy well.This movie tells me that how good the letter is. Now we almost use e-mail, we hardly write letters.When I watched this movie, I wanted to write a letter.This movie is really delicate, beautiful and great love story I think.I want to see this movie again someday.

HI! Today I watched "Love Letter" in my language school. I'm not going to say: "the edition is bad, the photography good, bla, bla, bla. I just want to tell you I love that kind of movies when you are all the time waiting to know what really happened, the director really reached to keep the spectator on their chair... wow!!! congratulation Shunji Iyai!

This is definitely the best drama I have ever seen in my life. I must admit that i am not a big drama fan but this film just blew me away. It is more than a drama...it is very, very romantic without being sappy and it also has a small mystery subplot which is very, very intriguing.

The film starts out very slowly, leisurely in a snail pace but give it time. By the end of teh first act, you'll be hooked till the subtle twist-in-the-end (more on that later).

The film reminds me alot of The Double Life Of Veronique as it uses the same concept of having the two protagonists being played by the same actress. I've watched both and though Veronique is a masterpiece, this film is a few notches above.

Now the ending of the film is at once touching, intriguing, disturbing and very hard to accept. Some people might have seen it coming early into the film but it caught me off guard. It is not like "Teh Sixth Sense" or "The Usual Suspects" kind of twist ending but it runs along the lines of....man, i can't think of any other film which has this kind of ending. I won't spoil it for you but it involves the two leads and the one "thing" they have in common. Ohh....its tempting to reveal the secret but i won't.

Check this film out. Everything is top notch - direction, script, cinematography, acting, editing and the musical score. Definitely the number one Japanese movie in my favourite film list. I love it...you'll love it too.