The Letter (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3

Yamada Takayuki stars as Naoki, a young man whose life drastically changes after his brother (Tamayama Tetsuji) is convicted for murder. From that day on, he is often discriminated against because of his brother's crime, forced to constantly move apartments and change jobs. To not attract attention, he keeps to himself while working on his dream to become a stand-up comedian. Just as success is within grasp, he loses everything and retreats back unto himself. During this entire time, he and his imprisoned brother have been writing letters to each other. The letters are the sole light in his brother's life, but they are increasingly a burden to Naoki. To move on with his life, Naoki decides to stop writing to his brother.

Naoki is a difficult character to warm up to because of his introverted personality and standoffish manner, and Yamada Takayuki does a good job of making him believable, if not always likable. One of the details that lifts the story is Naoki's dream of becoming a comedian, despite his otherwise humorless nature. This sets up an interesting contrast, his ability to do on stage what he can't do in life - laugh things off. Yamada ably captures the two sides of Naoki's personae without drifting out of character. Tamayama Tetsuji meanwhile does wonders with his limited screen time, earning plenty of sympathy points for a character that started out as a killer. Perhaps even more important than connecting with Yamada's protagonist, it is the feeling of empathy for Tamayama's character that makes the brothers' relationship and the film affecting.

The Letter is undeniably heavy-handed in story, but balances out with a restrained tone and sensitive, straightforward exposition. The level of discrimination Naoki encounters in the film is questionable, exaggerated for the sake of melodrama, but there is something frank and genuine about the way the film is punctuated by matter-of-fact moments of both kindness and unfairness. Both negative and sympathetic actions are met with the same retreating reaction from Naoki, highlighting that The Letter is less about Naoki's struggle against society than a struggle against himself. The film is quiet and subdued, but covers a whole range of events and emotions over a long period of healing, such that when the big moment comes in the end, the tears feel earned and the journey feels justified.