Love Letter

OPENS AT METROGRAPH June 5

METROGRAPH IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE RUN OF Love Letter
STARTING June 5.

One of the most beloved directorial debuts of the 1990s and a popular sensation in Japan and beyond, Iwai’s epistolary drama—first released in the US as When I Close My Eyes and playing here in a new 4K restoration—stars Miho Nakayama, in a dual role, as both widowed fiancée Hiroko and librarian Itsuki, a former classmate of Hiroko’s deceased lover, together keeping alive the memory of the departed in a correspondence, begun by accident, that brings many a faded memory into focus. A work of gentle melodiousness and forceful feeling, of unexpected digressions and beautifully modulated tonal shifts, and, thanks to cinematographer Noboru Shinoda’s exquisite eye for the snowy landscape of Hokkaido, of formidable pictorial beauty. 

A Film Movement release.

Writer/director Shunji Iwai in person for opening weekend. 

The picture was scanned in 4K from the original camera negative, with color grading supervised by the director. For the sound, while based on a digital 5.1-channel mix, the center channel retains the original film audio in accordance with the director’s preference.

Accompanying the run of Iwai’s Love Letter, Metrograph presents The World at Full Volume: The Cinema of Shunji Iwai, a program of the director’s early career films. Titles include All About Lily Chou-Chou—which celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year—April Story, and Hana and Alice.