I started this blog in December 2011--now ten years ago! It's hard to believe. I thought that this year I'd do some revisiting to posts I made during that first year. Here's one of my favorites- love stories.
Originally posted on February 8, 2012:
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought it only fitting to compile a list of some favorite romantic movies- from Hollywood classic screwball comedies, fairy tales, contemporary dramas, to odd-couple independents. For me, the best love stories are ones that we can believe but are set in a different, unreal place. The stories should be whimsical and fantastical, to some degree, but the characters should feel like people we've met or would one day hope to meet. That is what romance is: an escape from reality… but one that ultimately makes you feel more content about reality. Whether consciously or not. Sometimes they are stories of chivalry and courage. Sometimes they are melodramatic and painfully sentimental. One definition of romance I particularly like: “an emotional attraction or aura belonging to an especially heroic era, adventure, or activity,” is a fitting description of all truly great films. So, perhaps, all films are romantic.
Romance as a film genre refers to films that center on romance, emotion, and passion. They are stories about relationships -often one particular relationship- and the journey of being or falling in love. They usually make us cry a little (or a lot) and tend to end happily or at least hopefully.
A great romantic film, in my opinion, shouldn’t only be romantic. For example, Amelie, one of my absolute favorite films, is certainly a romance but it is also a tale of self-discovery, an adventure, a collage of wit, whimsy, and fantasy. After all, the original title is Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain.
This is a film I've seen over and over. Each time I watch I want to be Amelie and fall in love with Nino, courting him with little puzzles and notes. I want secret stratagems.
The top 10, according to The American Film Institute, are:
- Casablanca
- Gone with the Wind
- West Side Story
- Roman Holiday
- An Affair To Remember
- The Way We Were
- Doctor Zhivago
- It’s A Wonderful Life
- Love Story
- City Lights
I certainly agree that these films have earned their place at the top. I have a hard time coming up with a more timeless romance than Casablanca. They are all romantic, timeless, and ever-enriching American culture. But my personal favorites don’t start showing up until further along.
The Classics
The Lady Eve shows up at number #26 on AFI’s list and this film is, in my opinion, the best screwball comedy ever made. A screwball comedy is one that usually deals with farcical situations, social class divisions, and has lots of witty dialogue. Most also center around a relationship that seems mismatched. Starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda, the film follows the shenanigans of a con-artist and the rich intellectual she at first tries to swindle and then hopes to snatch.
Two other screwball comedies I love appear on the list, as well: It Happened One Night (#38) and The Philadelphia Story (#44). Both have fabulous dialogue and are still very funny over 80 years later.
Another favorite, Ball of Fire, doesn't make their list but it makes mine. I love this film- timeless but incredibly time specific. Similar to The Lady Eve, Ball of Fire brings together an intellectual and a club dancer in a rather silly but believable way. The jazz-age culture and slang makes me love it –if you’re also into jazz-age stuff check out Song of the Thin Man - and the romance is subtle and perfectly acted.
While in school, I took a course on the films of Howard Hawks. A comparison was made between Casablanca and Hawk’s classic To Have and Have Not (#60). Similar in concept and plot, the one thing that To Have and Have Not has that Casablanca doesn't have is wit. Don’t get me wrong, I love Casablanca but it is almost too sentimental for me. The wit, humor, and sharp dialogue of To Have and Have Not are much more my style and the romance acted by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall is… for obvious reasons… much less acted.
If you like more talk and less sweeping music with nostalgic scenes, you’ll probably like The Apartment (#62). The first time I watched this film, I was left in a daze. Is it possible to write lines that good? This film is a romance of words.
On the other hand, if you prefer the sweeping music and like plots that take on a grander setting with more conflicts, I can’t recommend any more highly than Out of Africa. This is not just a romance between two lonely people it is also a romance with landscape and lifestyle. Meryl Streep’s performance is one of the best.
Foreign Romance
I could go on and on about classic Hollywood romances but I'll stop now. If you prefer more exotic, unusual, or steamier romances, then I suggest heading to the broadly named “Foreign” film section. Most of the following suggestions are not just romantic but also strange and mind-bending. Sex and Lucia, for example, is a film about a writer whose novel and reality seem to mix together. It is a fantastic –maybe even disturbing- story. In Live Flesh, and practically all the films by the brilliant Pedro Almodovar, love and relationships are combined with violence, crime, and suspense. In a way, this is a less romantic and more romantic-thriller.
Here are a few more favorites:
A Very Long Engagement
Children of the Century –very steamy, as films about writers often are
Cinema Paradiso
Like Water for Chocolate
Lovers of the Arctic Circle
Nowhere in Africa –romance is not at the center of this film, but it is a powerful force
Misfit Romance
I have a particular weakness for romantic comedies that involve misfits. I like to see two outsiders come together and make a better life, learn to cope, or make an impact on others. There are so many great films that do this. Harold and Maude (#69) is a cult classic. I distinctly remember the absolute feeling of elation I had after seeing this movie for the first time. It was literally like walking on air. So powerful.
Chocolat is my favorite fairy tale film. In fact, it even starts with the lines “Once upon a time…” The couple in this film is as good as it gets- confident, flirtatious, and beautiful.
But, I guess my all time favorite romantic film has to be Benny and Joon. It is heart-warming, silly, relevant, quirky, dramatic in all the right ways, and it features incredible performances by Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson. This film will keep you young at heart and inspire you to love deeply no matter the costs and regardless of what others think.
Get out those tissues! Happy watching-
