Love Letter (1995 film)

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Love Letter
Directed by	Shunji Iwai
Written by	Shunji Iwai
Produced by	Shūji Abe Tomoki Ikeda Jiro Komaki Masahiko Nagasawa
Starring	Miho Nakayama Etsushi Toyokawa Bunjaku Han Miki Sakai Takashi Kashiwabara Ranran Suzuki
Cinematography	Noboru Shinoda
Edited by	Shunji Iwai
Music by	Remedios
Production companies	Fuji TV Asmik Ace
Distributed by	Japan Herald
Release dates	March 25, 1995 (1995-03-25) (Japan) June 12, 1998 (1998-06-12) (U.S.)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥8,500,760,900

Love Letter is a 1995 Japanese romantic film written, directed and edited by Shunji Iwai in his debut feature film and starring Miho Nakayama. The majority of the film was shot on the island of Hokkaidō, primarily in Otaru. It achieved great success at the box office in Japan and gained popularity in other East Asian countries, particularly South Korea. Remarkably, it was one of the first Japanese films to be shown in South Korean cinemas since World War II, garnering 645,615 admissions and ranking as the tenth highest-grossing general release of the year.^[1]

Shunji Iwai collaborated with cinematographer Noboru Shinoda, resulting in a film celebrated for its evocative winter cinematography.^{[citation needed]} Pop singer Miho Nakayama was cast in the dual roles of Hiroko Watanabe and Itsuki Fujii, while teenager Miki Sakai made her movie debut and won the 'Newcomer of the Year' Award at the Japanese Academy Awards for her portrayal of a young Itsuki Fujii. Etsushi Toyokawa and Takashi Kashiwabara played the main male roles as Akiba Shigeru and the male Itsuki Fujii, respectively.

The American distribution rights for the film were acquired by Fine Line Features, which released it in theaters under the new title When I Close My Eyes.