Valentine’s Day is approaching and love is in the air. Despite your feelings on whether the holiday is real or a monetized deception, it is a period when romance cinema floods the market. I tend to feel a bit patronized with many of these exaggerated, unrealistic depictions of love in film. But despite my feelings towards generic love films (*cough* Nicholas Sparks *cough*), that doesn’t mean I’m against a good romantic film. There are many romance films that I enjoy because of their ability to capture a true aspect of love. Here are a few that stand out to me.
Away We Go
Foundations of Love
“Away We Go” is a unique film about what I would call a “seasoned” couple. There’s no intense embracing in the rain nor are there any perfectly choreographed love scenes. This film is about a couple that has evolved past the “dreamy” phase and is looking to find their place to grow as a family.
With few surrounding family members, Burt (John Krasinski) and his wife Verona (Maya Rudolph) start a journey to find the perfect home to raise their unborn child. Throughout their journey we learn of many of the characters’ idiosyncrasies shared between just them. This seems to create a language between Burt and Verona that only they understand and tests the strengths of for better or for worse. While they may not display the passion that we see from many characters in many other love stories, they do show a deeper love through understanding. This level of communication and understanding is what builds the foundations of strong love. The search for their home is as much a metaphysical journey as it is an actual one, but the significance of this journey is that the characters share it together from beginning to end.
About Time
Appreciation of Love
“About Time” comes from the same mind that brought us “Love Actually” and “Notting Hill.” While the surface level story may be surrounded by disbelief, the underlying theme and values of this film are honest and pure.
The time traveling element may entertain viewers but it’s also a catalyst for building Tim’s (Domhnall Gleeson) understanding of love. Despite having the ability to manipulate things as he sees fit, he uses it to help his relationship flourish. By attempting to correct the faults of his relationship by “replaying” them, he learns to appreciate those faults and cherish the moments with those that he loves. Rather than taking the moments for granted just because he can relive them, he gains a more optimistic perspective and discovers a deeper love for his wife based on moments he may not have appreciated before.
When Harry Met Sally
Love & Friendship
There are a lot of truths about love in “When Harry Met Sally.” It is common knowledge that single friends commonly explore the relationship potential with friends of the opposite sex. While the notion of “friends becoming lovers” is common in many love stories, this film tells the story with honesty.
Love does not happen like a fairy tale. Love is inconvenient and “When Harry Met Sally” brilliantly shows this. Instead of there being a mutual attraction at the same point in time, Harry becomes attracted to Sally when she’s not attracted to him and vice-versa. This puts their friendship to the test and they react as normal friends in this situation would react…they establish distance. When they are not distant, they are awkward around each other and even frustrated at times. While it does have a happy ending, it’s the struggles that the characters face to get to that happy ending that makes “When Harry Met Sally” such a great love story.
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Brokeback Mountain
Forbidden Love
“Brokeback Mountain” makes a statement on the controversial subject of homosexuality. On the surface, many may see that the film is about two homosexual men that fall for each other. What the film is truly about is forbidden love and the hardships that come with it. Many would call “Romeo & Juliet” one of the greatest love stories of all time and this film builds from the foundations of that same story. Instead of rival families keeping them apart, it’s social acceptance for their own sexuality. Despite being in love and drawn to one another, Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) are forced to keep their romance a secret because society will not accept them.
When it comes to forbidden love, it comes in all forms. Society’s acceptance of homosexuality has been a barrier for many relationships but “Brokeback Mountain” can represent any social barrier to love. Whether it be race, social circles, religion, family, or whatever, “Brokeback Mountain” represents the tragic effect that society can have on our relationships.
Before Sunrise
Summer Love
“Before Sunrise” is more about the idea of love or the “spark” than actual love. The film is entirely dialogue driven and about the instant connection two people feel and their excitement for the possibility of love. It’s a perfect representation of that one person we met on vacation or while traveling that piqued our heart’s interest but left our hearts wondering after the vacation/travel concluded.
This film highlights the wonder and mystery surrounding your first encounter with a person that you would later grow to love. The dialogue is enriched with captivating wonder as many couples in love first experience. While it may not represent the certainty of love with someone, it does represent the wonder and possibilities that you feel when beginning to fall for someone.
Once
Inspirational Love
“Once” represents a unique type of love. It’s a type of love that transcends any sort of traditional relationship and falls more into the realm of inspiration. While the characters may not be lovers in the film, Markéta Irglová acts as Glen Hansard’s muse for his music as shown in the song below.
This is a story about people that inspire you to be your best. Irglová is the muse that wakes up the musician in Hansard pushing him to excel and discover his true talents. While their love may not be as apparent as a kiss in the rain, its foundations are of the purest form of love which is inspiration.
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500 Days of Summer
The Hardships of Love
It’s easy to discuss the pleasantries of love, but the heartache of love is rarely discussed. “500 Days of Summer” represents the splendor of young love followed by the depressing disarray of broken love.
Breakups rarely end in mutual agreement. Usually one person is heartbroken and they have to carry more of the emotional baggage that accompanies a failed relationship. This film shows the infatuated joy of Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who wins the heart of Summer (Zooey Deschanel) and how painful it is when that joy is abruptly ended by losing her interest. His love and idea of Summer (rather than who she actually is) turns into an obsessive infatuation and disbelief that she is the only one for him. The times of hardship showcase an emotionally driven individual absent of logic or reason which is relatable to anyone who has been on the bad end of a break up.
Lost in Translation
Misplaced Love
“Lost in Translation” explores the relationship between two totally different people that find common ground in an abnormal culture. Being two “fish out of water” they discover that despite their age difference, they find solace in in each other’s company.
The title explains the film well as both Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) and Bob (Bill Murray) are lost in their own lives and in this foreign land (Japan) with each other being the only form of engaging conversation. Even though they have their own relationships that they remain faithful to, they build a love for one another through experiencing Japanese culture together. Like I mentioned with “Before Sunrise,” this relationship is reminiscent of a “vacation love” but by remaining faithful to their own relationships, it’s more of a misplaced love as it can never be.
Moonrise Kingdom
Young Love
While many Wes Anderson films are based around a quirky style of comedy in an eclectic setting, “Moonrise Kingdom” is something more. “Moonrise Kingdom” represents that childhood love/crush that we’ve all experienced.
Even though they are children, Sam and Suzy exhibit their own style of romance from a child’s perspective. They are not old enough to know the logic and reasoning that comes with love, they are acting entirely from the heart. Their innocence, uncertainty, and idealism are all reminiscent of our own childhood experiences with love. “Moonrise Kingdom” is a quirky yet charmingly warm reminder of a less complicated time when love was much easier.
True Romance
Crazy Love
Written by Quentin Tarantino, “True Romance” represents that couple that moves too fast yet everything seems to work out. Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette) have a bit of desperation in their lives and are also a bit abnormal compared to the rest of society. It’s this abnormal desperation that brings them together and keeps them hopelessly in love from the time they meet and well into their impromptu marriage.
Many of their friends and family think that they’re too impulsive and crazy for moving so quickly but despite everyone’s disbelief, Clarence and Alabama both make it work. We all know of an impulsive couple like this and somehow they worked out better than we ever could have expected. This type of wildcard love is a rarity but every now and then a couple like this slips through the cracks and makes it.