The other night my wife and I settled in for a movie night and she chose “High Fidelity,” one of my all time favorite love songs. That’s one reason I married her; her good movie taste. So we watched it and when it was over I was in the mood to make a top 5 list (since that’s what the characters in them record store do all day), and this morning on my way to work I did.
So here they are, my top five movies about love (not necessarily Romantic Movies)
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(Written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry)
What can I say; this movie is not only top 5 movies about love, it is a top 5 movie for me period. The screenplay is brilliant, the directing is wonderful, but what gets me is after all that the two characters put themselves through; their moment of grace (and “true” love) is at the end, when they stand in the hallway and look at each other and say “Ok.” Right then and there, they grasp that love isn’t about being happy, it’s about so many deeper things that they won’t have unless they love each other for their worst parts.
2. The Princess Bride
(Written by William Goldman, Directed by Rob Reiner)
The best fairy tale ever told on film; it promises to have everything and it fulfills. This movie somehow rises above the cheesiness it could have to stand the test of time and age; making it somehow a film that feels as old as Casablanca and as new as last weeks’ big release. Sure, it doesn’t wrestle with the complexities of love, but there’s no better classic romance on film that I know of.
3. Annie Hall
(Written and Directed by Woody Allen)
This is another film about love, but it takes it from the angle of why didn’t it work out. Woody Allen uses all tricks and gimmicks available; from thought subtitles and animated sequences to breaking the fourth wall by dragging in Marshall McCluhan to bring depth to the characters and weight to the questions that he raises in his opening monologue. This film deftly explores the myriad of issues that lead to displeasure, unhappiness and ultimately the breakdown of relationships we go through.
4. High Fidelity
(Written by D.V. DeVicentis, based on a novel by Nick Hornby, directed by Stephen Frears)
This film gets me for the scene where Rob asks Laura to marry him; as he rambles about liking other girls and how he is “tired of the fantasy” but he “never seems to grow tired of her.” It’s not exactly the most romantic scene in the world, but it is a humble admission from a jackass that he needs to grow up, and he can’t see himself doing that without her around. This film also features Jack Black in one of the few roles that makes it seem like he’s acting, and a strong appreciation for the power of music.
5. 10 Things I Hate About You
(Written by Karen McCullah-Lutz & Kirsten Smith, directed by Gil Junger)
There are probably better films out there about love; maybe something by Krystof Kieslowski or another foreign film, but I couldn’t think of any of them and this film is just a personal favorite. It’s been a long time since teen movies didn’t equate sex with love, but I guess the Shakespearean roots of this film helped it along (It is based on the Taming of the Shrew). Yes, it is set in a high-school and yes the characters are all clearly high-schoolers, but somehow this movie reminds us that love is often about sacrifice and forgiveness, and it has a rollicking good time reminding us of that.