Class is eternal. The Japanese film 'Love Letter' (directed by Shunji Iwai), celebrating its 30th anniversary and 25th anniversary of its domestic release, attracted 14,957 viewers in theaters on New Year's Day.
The 30th Anniversary Edition of 'Love Letter' gained attention for restoring the vertical subtitles from its first screening in Korea in 1999, surpassing 10,000 viewers on its reopening day, with a seat occupancy rate of 42%, ranking first overall. It also received high praise with a rating of 9.5 on Megabox's real viewer reviews.
Distributor Waterhole Company analyzed, "This is the result of the existing movie fans who still want to see 'Love Letter' in theaters, the audience who have heard of 'Love Letter' but have not yet seen it in theaters and were waiting for its screening again, and the first-generation viewers who wanted to revisit the nostalgia of 1999 with vertical subtitles."
'Love Letter' met more audiences through its official domestic release in 1999. At that time, the film attracted an unimaginable number of viewers for the 90s (1.15 million in Seoul, estimated 3 million nationwide) and is still regarded as a legendary melodrama.
The 30th Anniversary Edition focused on correcting the mistranslations in the theater subtitles that many audiences and fans had found disappointing over the years, and implemented the vertical subtitles that were used during its original release in the 90s to preserve the work's originality.
Meanwhile, the film's protagonist, Miho Nakayama, was found dead in her home bathroom on the 6th. Her entertainment agency, Big Apple, later stated, "It has been determined to be an 'accidental incident' that occurred while bathing," and "The police's examination confirmed that there was no foul play." However, they did not provide specific details about what the 'accidental incident' entailed.
The deceased gained global popularity through 'Love Letter' and also appeared in works by Korean directors such as Jeong Jae-eun's 'Butterfly Sleep' and Lee Jae-han's 'Sayonara Itsuka.'
