The Juliet Club

Dear Claire,

"What" and "If" are two words as non-threatening as words can be. But put them together, side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.

"What if?"

"What if?"

"What if?"

I don't know how your story ended but if what you felt then was "true love", then it's never too late. If it were true love then, why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart. I don't know what a love like Juliet's feels like- a love to leave loved ones for, a love to cross oceans for. But I'd like to believe if I ever were to feel it, that I'd have the courage to seize it. And Claire, if you didn't, I hope one day that you will...

All My Love, Juliet

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This beautifully-written, thought-provoking letter was the starting point for Claire's (Vanessa Redgrave) quest to find the love she lost 50 years ago in the movie "Letters to Juliet". The letter was composed by Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), an American who was only in Verona, Italy for a vacation. However, through chance and fate, Sophie found Claire's letter asking for Juliet's advice and ended up witnessing a beautiful love story and having her own love story, as well.

At my age, I've already become quite choosy with the romantic comedies I watch (though I must admit that most of them still secretly make me feel butterflies in my stomach). I was drawn to "Letters to Juliet" for the following reasons:

- The setting is in beautiful Europe, which can make any movie look romantic!

- I like Amanda Seyfried's simplicity, smile and natural acting skills.

- I'm a fan of Shakespeare's works or any movie based on his plays.

- One of the sub-theme's of the movie is "writing", which I am always interested in. (Being a journalist is one of my 'forgotten' dreams)

In the movie, I liked the 50-year-old love story between Claire and Lorezo, compared to the fresher one between Sophie and Charlie. I guess there's something really touching about older people still very much in love with each other, even when people insist that time had already passed them by. Don't we all dream of still holding hands with our partner and laughing like a schoolgirl when we're 65? As the movie shows... when it's true love, it's never too late.

The movie is your usual feel-good romantic comedy... you know, the one with the smart beautiful talented lead character with a passion for love and the wrong partner to go with it, the initially-obnoxious but somehow-sweet and always-cute guy, the simple (but can be so complicated) plot, and the happily-ever-after ending that we all love so much! "Letters to Juliet" is all about love, so watch it if you're in love (better if you're with your significant other), want to be in love, and believe in love.

The title of my post is "The Juliet Club/Club di Giulietta" coz that's also something I want to highlight here. In the movie, there was a group of women who call themselves the secretaries of Juliet. They work for the government and their job is to collect and reply to all the letters/notes that women (and even men) from all over the world paste on the wall of Juliet's balcony in Verona. These are letters in all languages about love found and love lost, love sought and love remembered. They offer advice, a shoulder to cry on or simply a listening "ear" to these letter senders.
Being a secretary to one of the most romantic Shakespeare heroines of all time? Helping others and writing letters for a job? Situated in dreamy Verona, Italy? Now, that's a really cool job!

I was so curious if this club really exists and to my delight, it really does! Here's what I got from their website:

The Juliet club is a voluntary association. It has been active for many years, promoting the legend of Romeo and Juliet and the image of Verona, handling Juliet's correspondence and organizing some cultural events.

Juliet's secretaries reply to thousands of letters pouring in from everywhere. They offer advice and support or they just listen to all those who feel the need to talk about love. Juliet's powerful guidance is a bridge spanning over all geographic and cultural distances.

In this Internet age, you may even send them your letters through email! According to the movie (I'm not sure if it's true in real life), they reply to each and every letter they receive.

Hmmm... I'm planning to write a letter to Juliet soon. Fictional or not, the thoughts about love of the heroine of the first Shakespeare book I ever read would be something worth learning!