Love Letter

Love Letter is a 1995 Japanese film directed by Shunji Iwai and starring Miho Nakayama. The film was shot almost entirely on the island of Hokkaidō, mainly in the city of Otaru. Love Letter became a box-office hit in Japan and later in other east Asian countries, most notably South Korea, where it was one of the first Japanese films to be shown in cinemas since World War II. In South Korea it was the tenth highest grossing general release of the year with 645,615 admissions. Director Shunji Iwai hired Noboru Shinoda as cinematographer and the collaboration between the two produced a film praised for its evocative winter cinematography. Iwai cast pop singer Miho Nakayama in the dual roles of Hiroko Watanabe and Itsuki Fujii. The film also launched the movie career of teenager Miki Sakai who won 'Newcomer of the Year' Award in the Japanese Academy Awards for her portrayal of Itsuki Fujii as a young girl. The main male roles were played by Etsushi Toyokawa as Akiba Shigeru and Takashi Kashiwabara as the male Itsuki Fujii. Fine Line Features acquired all American distribution rights of Love Letter ; Fine Line Features released this movie in the United States theatrically under the new title When I Close My Eyes. However, Fine Line Features has not released this movie on DVD yet.