Romance Genre (Must-See)

Editors Note: I wrote this before valentines day, so thats why it was written in past tense. Don't be hatten...

Valentine’s Day is coming soon and no matter how you feel about the holiday of love, either it’s a gimmick or truly the lovers last bastion of hope, its celebrated by most people who are in a relationship or by children in elementary school giving out those silly cards with cartoon characters on them, with the candy that tastes like chalk. Point being, Valentine’s Day is holiday and we all celebrate whether we like or not. Hollywood celebrates it too, by releasing a slew of films that plague movie theaters every mid-February claiming they know the true meaning of love, or that they are this year’s best Romantic Comedy. These films are my favorite movies about love, hate, and the trials and tribulations that most people in love go through. These are the 5 movies you must see during Valentine’s Day.

5. The Last Kiss

“The Last Kiss” is one of few movies that Zach Braff, of “Scrubs” fame, stars in. Like his previous movie that he wrote and directed, “Garden State,” this movie is about love. But not the kind of love that movies normally show. In a normal Hollywood movie about love the lovers are thrown apart, the lovers go through extreme circumstances to come back to each other. This movie throws that unrealistic perspective out the window and shows the true face of love. The movie throws at you like a ton of bricks the reality of love, that it is tough and not only can we make mistakes, but love is at a price. This movie was done so brilliantly that when audiences came out to see it, they did not expect the “real” take on love and relationships that this movie had. It was advertised as a romantic comedy, but this isn’t your moms “Wedding Planner,” or “Gone with the Wind.”

4. Garden State

Again, Zach Braff knows Romance movies. With “The Last Kiss” he showed us all the reality and consequences that come with love and having children, pretty much starting your new life. But a few years before “The Last Kiss,” he showed us what love can do to our soul. It changes us, whether we want it to or not. Zach plays Andrew, a man who is prescribed anti-anxiety medicine and for a long time he is passive and doesn’t make any effort to change his life, until he met Sam, Natalie Portman’s character. She changed his life, and his taste in music. After meeting Sam, he was thrust into feelings and a whole new perspective on the world that only love and being with the person you adore can do. Zach Braff truly made a special film with this one. Let’s just hope he makes another film soon…

3. Amélie

“Amélie” is a special kind of love story that only the French could tell. “Amélie” is about our titular character Amélie, a young girl who resorts to her own fantastical dream world to view her visions of love and beauty. She meets people in her life who only see her as an object, a woman to sleep with and idealize as a goddess of sex and monetary beauty. Yet, she is much more than any of that. The audience starts to see the real beauty in the world through her eyes and her dreams. “Amélie” will take you on a journey like no other through her world and give you a fresh perspective on love and beauty like no other American film has done.

2. Love Actually

First, I have to say that I really enjoy all things that are British. The Brits really know how to make a wonderful love story. Like the French, they understand that love is far more than just sex and looks. In “Love Actually,” we see a large ensemble cast go through love, hate, loneliness, regret, and sadness; all within the span of the day before Christmas. And to be honest, isn’t that what love is? It’s a mixture of all these feelings and emotions, and this movie truly understands the sentiment of unrequited love. Whether that be for a friend, a family member, a person you just met, or the women of your dreams. Love is all around us. This movie understands love, and like The Beatles song that this film plays at its climax, “All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

1. Lost In Translation

The reason why I put this at the end of my list is because of many reasons. Yes, I love Bill Murray. Yes, I love Scarlett Johansson, and yes, I love Sofia Coppola, the writer and director of this film. But, I am not putting this film on this list because of those reasons. It’s on here because of one simple fact. This movie shows that love doesn’t have to be loud, obnoxious, and screaming out at the top of your lungs for the whole world to hear. Love can just be quite, it can be between friends or somebody you just meet over a short weekend and will never see again. You don’t have to sleep with someone in order to love them. This movie understands that. Bill Murray plays a character lost in Tokyo, Japan. He meets Scarlett Johansson character, a lonely newlywed who is locked in her room without her husband. They meet, they fall in love. But they don’t kiss and they don’t have sex. They just love each other; they love the moments they spent together. Isn’t that what love is?