Letters to Juliet (3½ Stars)

In 1936 Italy decided that it wanted more tourists to visit Verona. A house was built called Juliet's house, claiming to be the house of the fictional character from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". The house has a balcony to be used by women: they can either stand on it to shout out their love for someone, or they can stand silently while a man in the courtyard below shouts up a declaration of love to her. A life size bronze statue of Juliet was placed in the courtyard, and it is claimed that anyone who touches the right breast will be lucky in love. A wall in the courtyard was declared to be Juliet's Wall. Heartbroken women can attach notes to the wall describing their problems, and any letters containing a name and address will receive a personal reply from Juliet herself.

All of this is true, and gullible tourists lapped it up. Today Juliet's house is the main tourist attraction in Verona. This forms the background for the film. Sophie is a "fact finder" for a New York magazine. While on vacation in Verona she is fascinated by Juliet's Wall and decides to investigate it. She observes a woman removing the letters from the wall after closing time, and follows her to an office where a group of women, calling themselves the "Secretaries of Juliet", reply to the letters, signing them as Juliet. The following day she discovers a letter that has been hidden in a crack in the wall since 1957. A 15-year-old English girl called Claire is complaining about losing touch with her Italian lover, Lorenzo. Sophie asks for permission to reply, and writes a passionate letter in Juliet's name saying that even after 50 years she should have the courage to find her lover. "True love has no expiration date". Imagine her surprise that a few days later Claire arrives from England looking for the writer of the letter and asking for help finding her Lorenzo.

This is a beautiful story about love that can survive the passage of time. It's obvious from the start that the director was fascinated by Italy, the landscapes and the cities, and is using every chance to frame the story against a romantic background which is so un-American. My main criticism is that for the first hour the film moves too slowly, the characters moving in circles and not getting anywhere. The last 30 minutes are overwhelmingly romantic. This is a film for lovers to watch while they sit holding hands.