A Casa do Lago

I saw this film on June 12th, 2006 at a preview showing in my home town of Austin, Texas. Admittedly, when I first viewed the trailer it appeared to be nothing more than a cheap romantic flick with a hunk (Keanu Reeves) and a pretty girl (Sandra Bullock). After watching this film, I realized first impressions can sometimes be wrong.

The plot may be a bit out of the ordinary. But if you suspend logic for an hour or two and believe in the magic of the story, it will draw you into a deeply passionate story. There are some twists that may or may not surprise (especially if you're as quick as my wife).

Although Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock have had some iffy acting performances in the past, both put in excellent performances that made their characters come alive. Each characters has a very earthy feel that makes them seem real and relatable.

Overall, I have to say this is a beautiful movie, from the story to the acting to the beautiful cinematography.

In Chicago, the lonely architect Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves) has a troubled relationship with his father Simon Wyler (Christopher Plummer). In 2004, he buys an old glass house in a lake, designed and built by his father, and he finds a message in his mailbox from the former tenant, the also lonely Dr. Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock), asking to deliver her correspondence in an address downtown. Alex meets his brother Henry (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) in Chicago and when they go to the address with Dr. Forster's correspondence, they find a building of luxury apartments under construction to be delivered eighteen months later. After some messages, Alex and Kate disclose that she is living in 2006 and Alex in 2004, they fall in love for each other and they try to find means to meet each other.

"The Lake House" is a beautiful and magical tale of impossible love, with a wonderful chemistry between the gorgeous Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. The story has many flaws and lack of explanations, and slightly recalls the idea of the excellent "Sliding Doors", but better off forget the inconsistencies and enjoy the nice love story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa no Lago" ("The House in the Lake")

Upon moving out from her beautiful lake house a woman named "Kate Forster" (Sandra Bullock) puts a letter in her mailbox for the person moving in asking that her mail be forwarded to her new address. Much to her surprise she finds that her letter is replied to with a strange response saying that the house she is referring to has been vacant for several years. Needless to say, this perplexes her and so she puts another letter into the mailbox assuring the person that she has lived in that house until recently and that includes the current year of 2006. Not only that but she also repeats the request to forward her mail to an address in nearby Chicago. This now puzzles the new resident, "Alex Wyler" (Keanu Reeves) who is living in the year 2004 and when he checks the address listed by Kate discovers that the apartment building is not due to be completed until 18 months later. So he responds that there must be some mistake only to get a letter back telling him that he should dress warmly because if he is living during the time he claims then there will be a freak snowstorm that night. Sure enough, that night it snows. Not only that, but when he puts a letter in the mailbox for her the next morning he is startled to get a response within minutes. Likewise, she is also shocked when he answers within minutes to her as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an adorable fantasy-romance film which has several interesting twists and turns along the way. Admittedly, there were a couple of subplots which tended to detract from the story a bit but even so I enjoyed this movie for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

I was excited by the premise but worried about it being a remake. There are some major plot holes but the movie's just so darn good that you don't mind. This was the most romantic movie I've seen in a long time - and that includes the torture of waiting for these two to meet! I wish that I could tell you more but you've got to see it yourself. Keanu Reeves is terrific, no flash back to "Bill" or "Neo" as you might sometimes see from him in other movies. Just a great performance. I really enjoyed Sandra Bullock and they have great chemistry - they'd have to otherwise the premise wouldn't have worked.

So, turn off your brain, take your main squeeze and prepare to loose yourself in the moment. I know you can do it if you try. Besides, we get real life every day. What's two hours of romantic fantasy going to hurt you?

I saw a screening of this last night and maybe I was just in the right mood for it, but I really enjoyed it. I'm not even a chick-flick kind of girl! It's best if you don't over-analyze the time-travel details and just go with it... it's a movie, after all. Seriously, I wasn't expecting that much and I got a better feeling from this movie than I have in a long time - it made me feel warm and happy. Plus, the whole theater laughed at some parts, plus people gasped and cried, and at the end everyone applauded. That's a good sign, if you ask me. I don't watch previews so I don't know what they give away about the plot, so I'm not going to give much of anything away here. I will just say that to me this was a uniquely told romantic story. I happen to like Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, although they are by no means favorites of mine, nor do I consider them to be consistently amazing actors (more often they're not... at least he's not...). But they made this story work for me and I believe they have good chemistry. The movie is set in Chicago and shows the city off nicely without trying to beat you over the head with it (a la The Break-Up). One thing I think I related to a lot with these characters is that they are both pretty isolated and lonely, although not in a sad-sack way. I felt a longing from them for someone to relate to, and even though they have opportunities for other people to be involved in their lives... well it's not what's best for them and they don't settle. Plus, the actors are both in their 40s and I like seeing love stories that aren't about either two 22-year-olds or a 40-year-old man and a 22-year-old girl.