A Letter from Hiroshima

Overview

A Letter from Hiroshima explores themes of apology and remembrance. Suwa sends a letter to a Korean actress (Kim Ho-jung) he has worked with in the past requesting her assistance to write and direct a film about Hiroshima. Ho-jung arrives at her hotel and is told to explore the city and wait for Suwa. Initially confused, Ho-Jung soon finds the city mesmerizing and spends days learning about the tragic bombing and the effects that are still felt in the city today. With sparse dialogue and just a handful of characters, Suwa uses black and white images of Hiroshima to convey the scope of the tragedy. In one particularly poignant moment, the voice of a mother is heard lamenting the fact that she had scolded her daughter the day of the bombing. We next see Ho-jung crying in her hotel room, ignoring the ringing phone.