A love that knows no boundaries and can withstand the test of time. This is what true love means at least in the movies. If a love can still have the same energy no matter how far apart you are, then it is true and everlasting. But can love exist when two people live two years apart?
Apparently it can. Alejandro Agresti's take on the Korean film Siworae is the story of two people living in Chicago. Dr. Kate Foster (Sandra Bullock) lives in 2006 while Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) lives in 2004. They both however occupy the same lake house outside of Chicago. They communicate through letters left in the mailbox. Impossible as it may be, these two become pen pals, writing about who they are, what they do, and what they have gone through. Also living at the house is Jack, the dog that they both share.
Jumping back and forth between 2004 and 2006, we see how their lives, although separate, become intertwined through a series of planned encounters. Their relationship relies on patience, just like the romance of the novel Persuassion, a favorite of Bullock's character. The one connection the two share is their love of the lake house, a solid foundation for their romance.
There is a certain mystical element to the movie that is captivating. The way the two cross the sea of time and interact through the mailbox is romantic and charming. At one point Bullock's character mentions that she misses the tress by the lake house and how there aren't any where she lives. Reeves plants a tree in 2004 so that in 2006 it will be there for her. Cute things like this make their relationship fun to watch.
Agresti's camera work and overall display of the conversations that Bullock and Reeves have is adequate. In some scenes, both characters are present in the same place, talking to each other like you would with anybody else but the overlap on screen of the two years is put together nicely. There is however one rather large flaw.
The short story by Ray Bradbury A Sound of Thunder is the story of a group of scientists who travel back in time and in doing so unintentionally kill a butterfly. This act has a ripple effect, changing the future drastically. This one little event changed the course of history. I realize that this short story is fiction but it does make sense. If you change the past then in fact you change the future. By planting the tree Reeves might have altered the environment or caused something else that makes a big impact.
Keeping this in mind I can't truly enjoy the film. Certainly Robert Zemeckis's 80's classic Back to the Future delves into this but the outcome is desirable. Whow knows what can happen if you change the past? Luckily, The Lake House isn't a science fiction movie so it is not such a big deal.
Overall the film is cute and original, at least for American Cinema. It has a nice story and a creative premise. It doesn't break any boundaries like the love in the film. For what it is, The Lake House is a nice piece of romance.
Apparently it can. Alejandro Agresti's take on the Korean film Siworae is the story of two people living in Chicago. Dr. Kate Foster (Sandra Bullock) lives in 2006 while Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) lives in 2004. They both however occupy the same lake house outside of Chicago. They communicate through letters left in the mailbox. Impossible as it may be, these two become pen pals, writing about who they are, what they do, and what they have gone through. Also living at the house is Jack, the dog that they both share.
Jumping back and forth between 2004 and 2006, we see how their lives, although separate, become intertwined through a series of planned encounters. Their relationship relies on patience, just like the romance of the novel Persuassion, a favorite of Bullock's character. The one connection the two share is their love of the lake house, a solid foundation for their romance.
There is a certain mystical element to the movie that is captivating. The way the two cross the sea of time and interact through the mailbox is romantic and charming. At one point Bullock's character mentions that she misses the tress by the lake house and how there aren't any where she lives. Reeves plants a tree in 2004 so that in 2006 it will be there for her. Cute things like this make their relationship fun to watch.
Agresti's camera work and overall display of the conversations that Bullock and Reeves have is adequate. In some scenes, both characters are present in the same place, talking to each other like you would with anybody else but the overlap on screen of the two years is put together nicely. There is however one rather large flaw.
The short story by Ray Bradbury A Sound of Thunder is the story of a group of scientists who travel back in time and in doing so unintentionally kill a butterfly. This act has a ripple effect, changing the future drastically. This one little event changed the course of history. I realize that this short story is fiction but it does make sense. If you change the past then in fact you change the future. By planting the tree Reeves might have altered the environment or caused something else that makes a big impact.
Keeping this in mind I can't truly enjoy the film. Certainly Robert Zemeckis's 80's classic Back to the Future delves into this but the outcome is desirable. Whow knows what can happen if you change the past? Luckily, The Lake House isn't a science fiction movie so it is not such a big deal.
Overall the film is cute and original, at least for American Cinema. It has a nice story and a creative premise. It doesn't break any boundaries like the love in the film. For what it is, The Lake House is a nice piece of romance.