Weird thing to say, but I was sitting in the bath just now, listening to the soundtrack of Betty Blue, and was thinking of the whole gamut of love. What love is, how it affects us, the variant process and definitions in love. So, I popped out and decided to extend on a post I did some months back about the way fiction can indeed influence or destroy the whole process of this romantic notion. I may also point out, even though some readers may not believe this, that I am a softy at heart and do strive to seek out that elusive of state. A feeling of emotions that controls the physical elements that can turn our solid form into a quaking mess. That can make butterflies take flight in our guts. That can stab pain through our soul and draw no blood. Anyway, these are the top films that I believe capture the sense of what it's all about, even if this never transpires in our own waking life. I don't expect everyone to agree with my choices, but after all, it is my choice. I will explain why I have chosen them, and the order. I hope that some you agree on. I hope some you have seen, and some you see the value in their inclusion.
First, is my ultimately favourite film of all-time; Cinema Paradiso
This film has so many different variations of love that its hard to know where to begin. It is about a boy that tries to find himself, without a father, and with a surrogate, in the form of Alfredo. The boy discovers a love for film, that controls his film, but with a passion that only that special person could bring. And there she enters. The dream, the passion, the mystery and ultimately the loss. This film is about taking hold of memories and not seeing them as ghosts, but as the turning of a life on a lathe of emotions that carve feelings that make us learn about every aspect of love. A beautiful film that I feel will never be knocked of the top position.
Next, Betty Blue
Although this film takes a frank look at the erotic aspect of love, it also touches of the emotional state of the relationship between Zorg and Betty. It is more about the destructive nature of love and how that has the constructive forces to define people actions and necessary course of actions. Zorg is torn between his desire and his compassion for the woman that falls apart in front of him. It is climaxed with the ultimate sacrifice he can make, and is lovingly portrayed with the ghostly white cat sitting watching him complete his real passion of writing; the story of the two lovers, no less.
Third on the list: Doctor Zhivago
David Lean will go down in history as one of the best directors that ever lived. This film will be one that marks that on his epitaph of film history. Until that last moment as Lara moves away on the bus and Yuri is ultimately unable to state is dying love for this woman that defined his entire life in the struggling Russia, this is about classic romantic connection. The performances are great, and the memory of that one scene in the snow struck cabin where Lara questions Yuri, that if they lived their lives any different would their love be any different. Something to think about.
Next, Casablanca
Can't really have a list of films about love, without including Casablanca. That rugged, seemingly emotionless character of Rick being struck by the reappearance of the lost love from Paris, as she works through his doors, in distant Casablanca. It is a love triangle of ultimately destructive proportions that will never see a happy ending. Rick, in classic Hollywood macho man form tries never to show a sign of his true feelings until 'that' song is touched upon on the ivories of the bar he owns. All is brought back, but destined never to move forward.
Another great film; The Shipping News
As this film starts it seems less like a love story, but more about a voyage of discovery. However, like the qualities that are held inside Cinema Paradiso, this film has multiple layers of the definition of love. It is about Quoyle, who's childhood memories of love carve his desperate desire for connection to someone. His bad choice delivers the beauty of love, in his daughter, but then a calling to the remote Newfoundland changes his life. His lack of love for himself is eventually changed, as he see life in this remote place. Interest also grows as the connection is made with Wavey. A pragmatic woman dealing with her own life and disabled son. It is such a simple story that the feelings and emotions are enjoyable and even recognisable.
The Graduate
This was one of the first films I bought on VHS, all those years ago. A very powerful film about love as a drug and a misnomer. Although seen mainly through the eyes of Ben, a recently graduated full blooded man, desiring the marks of manhood. Being paired with the beautiful daughter of Mrs. Robinson he finds that the naivety in his knowledge of sex, and for that matter, love are equally countered by the sad, desperation shown in Mrs. Robinson's interest in the young stud. She has the sadness from her past experience and seeks her own drug of attention from man. Ben is sucked in and almost destroys the natural course by becoming involved in the affair. A film with a classic and ultimately romantic ending.
Next, King Kong
Love? It's about man and woman. It's about that natural connection, surely. This film shows the beauty in the pure understanding of what love is. It is metaphorically signified in the attributes of the brutal, masculine male in Kong, and the petite and fragile aspects of woman, in Ann. It should never be forgotten that love is about the animal instincts that guide us to try and define a mate. What the essence of man has brought to this soup of emotional turmoil is the fact that our emotions can and do get the better of us. The aggression of control, the total dedication to getting our prize. The interaction of these emotions as strong works with weak, as soft with hard, and the disparity that can cause so many of those seemingly unfathomable barriers that keeps true love from finding its path.
Next, Barefoot in the Park
I wanted to include this, as when I first watched it it touched me with its simplicity in a message that we all tend to want to look for. Accepting people for who they are. Neil Simon has a way with his pen that enables us to explore the two characters as if we were actually part of the story ourselves. Its a film about trust, but in a way makes you understand that to love someone you must accept them for who they are. To see their quirks and to ride with them and to know these are the things that are the reason you love them, and not the perfect you seek in someone.
Last but one; Of Mice and Men
Again, this classic novel by John Steinbeck, turned into a reasonable film version by Gary Sinise, seem hardly a film about love. What must be explored however is the values that the two characters of Lennie and George are in fact of the same form. A man's need to explore that change that we all face in growing up. It is the naive child that needs to bring the gap from play to the serious role of manhood. The film is that journey that explores the roll of George as he tries to held and hold onto that innocent in Lennie, but is ultimately tested in his love for the family he is, in that ultimate sacrifice. It is a sensitive book, and film that has been my favourite novel for as long as I first read it. A simple story, that portrays the complexities of a dual personality in that scary time in any man's life. The need to let go of youth and take responsibility for his life.
Finally, Jerry Macguire
Of course there could be a longer and stronger list of films that deserve to be here rather than this simple Hollywood story, but I am a strong believer that films should be taken for what they are, and not how they fit into some hierarchical category of aesthetic masterpieces. Jerry is a guy that has a love fort his work. There is nothing he wouldn't do for his clients. But is this really making him happy. What then enters is the turmoil that flips his life upside down. The metaphoric chaos that life is all about. Then enters the rock that defines him. The one thing that he was not expecting. The one thing that he feared. The simplicity in a single woman who believes in him. A young boy that sees something more than the slick guy he tries to portray. And a woman, who in her approach can turn this hotshots head, in a way to make him thing about what the real values of life are. Then again maybe it's just Bruce Springsteen's superb "Secret Garden" than plucks some heart strings. And that, as I said in my previous post, is the trap of this fictional view on something that alludes us all.
Hope you enjoyed. Would love your feedback!
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