Review: "Love Letter" is the end-product of something that must have been dear to Shunji Iwai. It becomes apparent from the outset of the film that he is taking extreme care with the story he wrote, bringing it to life with all the necessary subtle nuances, crafting an ultimately enjoyable film that brings themes like remembrance, love and closure together with enviable ease.

The story is simple and easy to follow, each character unique and interesting. The way the perspective jumps back and forth from the two leads adds life to both sides of their story. It's the way this is all setup that makes it so fun to watch. It rarely drags. there's a point about halfway through the movie where it could have ended, but doing so would have been a disservice, with the second half being the real meat of the tale.

The performances are of particular note. From deep sorrow to exuberance, Hiroko and her "pen pal" Fujii are both played believably, with a lot of feeling. Since the story only really focuses on their interesting relationship through letters, we get a lot of background detail on the two, who never actually meet face to face. This sort of dialogue is interesting, especially as the letters get longer and longer. Alongside the main character Hiroko is Shigeru, who would rather she put aside such sentamentality for her departed fiance and marry him. He is both sensitive to her feelings and insisting that she move on at the same time.

Once the strange connection between Hiroko and Fujii is realized, we are treated to many flashback sequences, detailing Fujii's strange classmate-relationship with Hiroko's deceased fiancee, who shares the same name as Fujii. This same name problem plagues them throughout their school years, and all of this insight into her fiance's young school life both refreshes and disheartens Hiroko. While she delights in hearing of his quirky personality, and often times shy disposition, she begins to see that his love for her could not have possibly been love at first sight. It is obvious through Fujii's letters and stories, that her fiance also cared for his classmate of the same name.

Especially note worthy is the beautiful scenery in many portions of the film. The camerawork is brilliant at times, and everything seems to shimmer on the screen, engraving a lot of the details permanently in the viewers mind. Judging from two of his other films, "All About Lily Chou-Chou" and "April Story", it becomes apparent that Iwai has a knack for bringing out beauty in anything and everything. He is a very solid director.

The music in "Love Letter" by Remedios ranges from sweeping scores to somber, melancholy delights. Vaguely reminiscent of a Joe Hisaishi score, in both mood and tone, it carries itself very well through the film's duration, and adds necessary emotion during pivotal moments. As an added bonus, the DVD comes packed with a soundtrack CD, which just adds more icing to this already delicious cake of a DVD.