This review may contain spoilers
Farewell to the irretrievable Youth
Iwai Shunji was an idol in the movie industry in the 1990s. The young people were obsessed with the beautiful and romantic "Love Letter", "April Story", and "Flower and Alice". The alternative personality was in love with the dark andIn the movie, Matsuko pretended to be her deceased elder sister by mistake, and began a correspondence conversation with Masaharu Fukuyama, the senior who had a crush in high school, which was interesting and a little romantic. After that, the senior's reply inadvertently fell into the hands of his niece Hirose Suzu, and the two generations began to remember and interpret the past.
Regarding the goddess-like sister, except for the memory clips from the high school period, they are all presented in the way of narration by others, just like the male version of "Love Letter". The image of the deceased is pieced together in the memory, without grief or even sadness, as light as daily life, as if tragedy is life.
Some people say that the Chinese version on the contrary, I feel that the mediocrity presented by in the japanese version (I wonder if it deliberately) fits the soul of the character. The humble sister is destined to be the outsider of the story. She humbly looked up at her goddess-like sister in the dark, and could not even feel jealous or feeling sad. She could only take it for granted, smiling and blessing.
Fukuyama Masaharu’s senior interpretation is the same. Is it because he is a novelist because he is so talented that he cannot give up, or is it because of a sentence from his crush? Only one book has been published in half of his life, and people struggle to remember their first love in middle age, not necessarily because of love, but to find and achieve oneself. He is essentially no different from Toyokawa Etsuji, who was loved by others in order to become the "number one man" in college.
Love is incomprehensible, and the goddess falling in love with the prodigal son is also a law. The characters in the movie always sigh, if the sister chooses Fukuyama Masaharu who seems to be obsessed with her, will the ending be different? But moths fighting the fire are fate, saying "if" is nothing but self-comfort of human wishful thinking.
It’s as beautiful as a dream, it’s like a photo album
My interpretation may be cruel, but Shunji Iwai is even more cruel. He specially invited Toyokawa Etsuji and Nakayama Miho to perform guest roles in cynical scum and vulgar pregnant women, and completely shattered the fantasies once held by the public.
The director is still a superstitious star. Matsuko and Masaharu Fukuyama, together with Hirose Suzu and Kamiki Ryunosuke, are all the best first-class stars in Japan today. Kamiki Ryunosuke has the strongest acting skills in the new generation, but he in the movie reminds me of Takashi Kashiwahara, whom I haven't seen in the movie for a long time. The two contrasted and eclipsed. It turns out that the last beautiful boy in Japan is irreplaceable.
Iwai's works are still beautiful, and they are like a photo album. I like the scene of two young girls holding a big dog holding an umbrella most. Masaharu Fukuyama uses the lens to capture it, and what freezes is his irreparable youth.
"Love Letter" highlights the miss, but everything in "The Last Love Letter" is a free will choice, not a love triangle, even regret. Many people criticized "The Last Love Letter" as "not touching enough", I think it is normal, and even suspect that the director deliberately did it. Iwai was a 32-year-old lightly mature man when he filmed "Love Letters". He is 57 years old this year, of course his mood is different. There is no longer a "love letter" reluctance to let go of the obsession, even facing death is indifferent.
The fierce throbbing that shouted "How are you? I'm fine!" at the white snow was gone 25 years later. It's just a pair of middle-aged men and women who cannot love each other, and they meet each other by chance many years later. I remembered that I used to think that there were countless options, I used to believe that the future has unlimited possibilities, but the reality before me is not as expected.
Although the past is unforgettable, after all, you must hide it in your heart, or smile bitterly or smile, and continue on the road.
To be alive, that's all about it.
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lovely and great
I found myself thinking a lot after watching this movie, it has left me deeply emotional , it had a really unique story, and the flow was just unraveling120 gripping minutes where u follow a story unfold, it goes back and forth between present and past and at times leaving you itching to stay a bit more on either of them
this is a faithful adaptation of a chinese movie by the same name albeight it improves significantly on the original with slight touches that makes meaningful impact
The story leaves a small question or 2 intentionally unanswered and this really makes you wonder and start filling the little gaps on ur own, While sometimes this can be frustrating , its actually brilliantly done here
Last letter is a movie well told and a painting well drawn
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Unique Plot
At first, people might be a little confused because in this film Suzu Hirose plays two roles at different times, but as the story continues, it becomes clearer how the plot in this film is arranged. taking the story line back and forth is very unique and provides the right pace, shooting is also very good.in this film the audience can feel the emotions of each character, especially for me personally the emotion of sadness emitted by the character Tono Yuri can be felt for the audience and how Tono Yuri is always number two compared to his older sister. then how desperate an Otosaka Kyoshiro after knowing the bitter reality that Tono Misaki had to experience. but on the other hand, all the players in this film are very good at acting and can convey the emotions of the characters they play well.
to be honest this film can make the audience to cry to feel the emotions experienced by the characters in this film. This film presents the real reality of life, because in life not everything can go well according to our wishes and we must be able to accept how our destiny will be in the future (especially in terms of love).
This film is suitable to be recommended to friends or family who like a slice of life drama film with a touch of romance (tragic romance).
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Stylish and sappy
This is a superb film. It is amazing what other parts of the world can achieve on so little a budget, but more on that below.Last Letter is stylish and sappy at the same time, yet overall is a clear winner that tugs at the heart and does not let go throughout despite the sharp tempo breaks that change focus of the film every thirty minutes. The acting is incredible. The story is original. The girls are beautiful and unlike American ones not into nose rings and tattoos on thunder thighs. They also act incredibly mature, thanks to the script and also because they play younger characters than their age, for teenagers.
A romantic drama, the film centers on what is ostensibly a case of a misrepresentation and mistaken identity wrapped in a fast forward button of many years.It will make you laugh before making you cry and then subsequently making you smile.
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Letter
If I write only one, it was a work that reminded me of the goodness of "letter" .The first thing I thought was "Camera work is too great!"
Each scene was very beautifully expressed, such as how to use light and shadow , the expression of "country summer" , and the " aerial photography" that probably used a drone .
Among them, the one that impressed me especially was "the scene where Otosaka visits the Tono family and talks with Ayumi in front of the unbloomed Buddhist altar."
The reason I was most impressed was that "adjusting the focus" led to the movement of the viewpoint.
In a normal scene, the camera is pointed at the person who is talking, and by switching, the person who is talking is forced to pay attention, but in this scene, the two people sitting in front and behind are "focused". I was moving the viewpoint.
It's amazing, it's too amazing. What's more, the focus did not change suddenly, but gradually.
There was excellent camera work everywhere like this.
Oh yeah, I remembered that I wanted to write one more while saying that I should write only one.
That is, "actors are good at acting . "
It's a matter of course, and I feel like I'm saying something obvious, but the performance was really wonderful .
In this work, Suzu Hirose and Nana Mori also play the appearance of their mothers when they were young.
Of course, Nana Mori's "Tono Souka" and her mother "Tono Yuri" have different personalities, so we are confused that we can't play them separately, but since we are parents and children, there are many similarities.
I was very good at acting there.
Since the times are different, hairstyles can make a difference to some extent, but the place where Nana Mori plays the frightening feeling of Yuri Tono (such as the scene that resumes the alumni association with Fukuyama) played by Takako Matsu (Scene of calling Kei to the house) I was surprised because the gestures were so similar.
In an article, it was written that "Ryunosuke Kamiki" perfectly reproduced the gesture of "Masaharu Fukuyama" and it was amazing.
I think that the expression there was particularly emphasized because this movie is a complex mixture of the flashback scene and the current scene.
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