124th Street. The Lake House...

I was kindly invited by a friend of mine the other day, to attend the gala screening of "The Lake House". For those out there who doesn't exactly know what it is, The Lake House is a love story between two persons who live two years apart from one another. They manage to fall in love despite unable to see each other due to the apparent rift in time - so I guess, you can call this a sci-fi meets soap opera kind of movie...

Did I mention that "The Lake House" is a re-make of the Korean movie "IL MARE"? Anyway, that isn't important. What is important however, is that it stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Both actors had not paired up since the highly successful movie "Speed". The hype, therefore, was the fact that the actors are back working together, and hence the audience can expect some really great sparks to fly.

I must say I was really impressed with the whole time rift thing. Not sure if this is a spoiler, but the mailbox, in the movie, is a time portal in which the two lovers communicate. Remember that they are living TWO years apart from one another, so they can never meet. Their only means of communication is the letters they write to each another, and through words they are united. I am not sure if this is a conscious effort by the director, but he seems to be making a very clear point about the POWER of words. Sometimes, all one needs is really, to find the right words. Inevitable as it seems, I see this movie as an attempt to exemplify the power and the endurance of literature.

The movie makes several references to Jane Austen's "Persuasion". Although the book is well, over-dicussed, I find the conscious link to this 19th Century classic deeply comforting. It would appear that the issues that trouble people in the 19th century still torubles us now. Perhaps, "The Lake House" may be read as a statement about the relevance of literature, especially 19th Century literature.

I have not seen the original Korean version of the movie, so I don't think I am in a position to say that this is a great movie. I must say however, that I enjoyed it. If anything, it made me believe in WORDS again.