From the dog paw prints, a day when it unexpectedly snows, to Alex's catching a cold just as Kate predicts, this Hollywood remake starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock contain many similarities with the original film from which it is based
Il Mare. For example the main male characters in both films have troubled relationships with their famous architect fathers. The overall story is extremely similar but there are some differences. In the original, the main female character loses a walkman which she uses to practice her voice actress skills. In The Lake House obviously this would not make sense as Sandra Bullock's character is not a voice actress but an ER physician, so instead she loses a copy of Jane Austen's
Persuasion which happens to be her favorite book which happens to be about lovers who must part ways. In the original, the lake house was named Il Mare which means the sea in Italian. In the remake the lake house is not given a name, but the two main characters do plan to meet up together at a popular Chicago restaurant which happens to be called Il Mare. In the Holloywood remake, there are more frequent encounters between the two main characters. In fact so much so that it is kind of hard to believe Sandra Bullock's character is not able to recognize Keanu Reeves' character when they meet yet again. Another notable difference was that the original Il Mare film depicted a woman who loses an opportunity at new love due to her failing to find closure with a past love. The remake does not have this element. In the remake there is no past love. The overall story is pretty much the same as the original but The Lake House does seem to be a bit more of a rosier, happier story.
