Blog Dis
Romance belongs...
2024-03-12
Romance belongs between the pages of a book because within the pages of a book, the illusion of love can be played out to perfection: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl in the end - buttoned up, neat and tidy, everyone is happy. End of story, right? Wrong! [Feel free, by the way, to swap out the players, i.e. boy w/ boy or girl w/ girl].
Romance is not meant to be easy, at least not in terms of how it's presented in a novel. There has to be a dilemma, some form of drama that blocks the two lovers from being together. What I've experienced in my life is that romance won't come floating to your feet, rolled up in an ancient scroll, hidden inside a bottle. Romance just doesn't work that way. Romance is the kind of state of mind that actually requires forethought in order for it to work two ways, making you feel all warm inside and especially to the person for whom the romance is intended. That's why they invented romance novels and mushy Rom-Coms, to offer up an easy-to-digest version of romance.
I thought about providing a boring list of my top ten favourite romance films of all time and then I thought twice about doing so. Why limit to ten? Shouldn't there be an innumerable list of romance films? After all, romance is an inverted version of love and is therefore different in the eye of the beholder. I have my list of books and films as I'm sure you do yours as does your partner and, for sure, it's highly likely they won't match up. So, and for the sake of this post, I've whittled my list down to the top six romance films that have made me re-think my notions of love, despite inwardly believing that romance can sustain a relationship only for so long until the staleness of familiarity twists the love into some new form of appreciation and for some, into a form of disdain.
Life's job is to challenge us and it does. Our jobs as humans with a beating heart is to find the passion in our lives to keep going. Chasing after men and women is as much a good reason to keep going as any, I figure.
Here goes my list...
#1 Last Tango in Paris: A controversial choice, for sure. Filmed in 1972 by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring none other than the late Marlon Brando (he looks trim and fit). Even Brando himself was quoted as saying, "Don't ask me what the film is about." The world at large remembers it for its butter scene (which was faked, by the way). I believe, however, the movie was ahead of its time because it has a great deal to say on the subject of unrealistic expectations when we begin a fling, a relationship, and how knowing more about a person isn't necessarily the best. Ends tragically but then all love ends in loss, more so if its French tragedy. Here's my riddle for you, my X-friends, for this movie: What are the last four words that Brando mumbles? [Hint: I watched this movie 7+ times to figure out Brando's last words. For me, the movie is about emotional liberation and it's what the characters don't say to each other, that gives you the clue to my riddle].
#2 Mrs. Brown: Filmed in 1997. Tour de force acting by Dame Judy Dench and Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, based on historical events of the story about the controversial relationship between the Queen of England and her personal footman. There's no foul language or gratuitous sex but enough of an under-current between two people that you'd think the Red Sea could be parted again. Also ends tragically... boo-hoo!
#3 Shadowlands: Filmed in 1993, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as C.S. Lewis, professor and renowned writer and Deborah Winger as poet Joy Grisham. OK, I'll admit the director took a tiny bit of creative licence with the story but on the whole this romance flic kicks ass and will leave you sobbing like a two year-old who's dropped their ice cream on the ground after barely one lick. Truly, I've seen a lot of movies in my day but never have I witnessed an entire audience bawling their silly eyes out, men included. Naturally, this one too ends in tragedy. Shakespeare and the Greek dramatists would be proud of my choices thus far! 😘
#4 The Sheltering Sky: Filmed in 1990 by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring John Malkovich and Deborah Winger, set in the stunningly hot climate of North Tangiers, Africa. There is love, lust, pure unadulterated eroticism and a musical score that's worth listening to separately. Sadly, this too ends in tragedy but we are better people for it! Love is like the last precious drop of water held in your palm, until you spread apart your fingers to taste, and everything slips between the cracks. Arguably, the best and longest death scene ever played out by an actor and in this instance to perfection by Malkovich. The man could act his way out of a steel box, I swear.
#5 Le Mari de la Coiffeuse: Filmed in 1990 by the late director Patrice Leconte and starring famous French actor Jean Rochefort and Anna Galiena. Simply story: young boy falls in love with hairdresser. Of course, I hate to say it, ultimately the movie ends with a tragic result but the pure love embodied in their interaction, as he grows from child to man, and then marries the love of his life, is the stuff of what the pinnacle of tragedy should look like if you knew beforehand how it would end. Yet, and despite these obstacles, you'd still fall head over heels into a barrel of worms only because this kind of love is worth losing your mind over. [French with English subtitles]
#6 True Romance: Filmed in 1993 and co-written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. I never tire of watching this action-packed, edge-of-your-seat, quirky flic about two star-crossed lovers going up against some pretty nasty characters. This is my one film choice that doesn't have a tragic ending. One scene in particular, between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper is beyond memorable, iconic, in my opinion, and so much so that I'm pretty sure the film-stock must have curled after they had filmed it.
Admittedly, I didn't choose these titles at random. I chose them with great care, knowing they're almost all tragedies. But then I didn't mislead you. I offered my views at the outset, realizing that to broach the subject of love and romance, I'd have to do so with the knowledge that everything ends.
Love and romance are sweetest when taken with a wedge of tart lime. And as you watch these movies with your lover, let them rest their weary head on your shoulder and cry their eyes out. Intense emotion leads to touching.
Romance is not meant to be easy, at least not in terms of how it's presented in a novel. There has to be a dilemma, some form of drama that blocks the two lovers from being together. What I've experienced in my life is that romance won't come floating to your feet, rolled up in an ancient scroll, hidden inside a bottle. Romance just doesn't work that way. Romance is the kind of state of mind that actually requires forethought in order for it to work two ways, making you feel all warm inside and especially to the person for whom the romance is intended. That's why they invented romance novels and mushy Rom-Coms, to offer up an easy-to-digest version of romance.
I thought about providing a boring list of my top ten favourite romance films of all time and then I thought twice about doing so. Why limit to ten? Shouldn't there be an innumerable list of romance films? After all, romance is an inverted version of love and is therefore different in the eye of the beholder. I have my list of books and films as I'm sure you do yours as does your partner and, for sure, it's highly likely they won't match up. So, and for the sake of this post, I've whittled my list down to the top six romance films that have made me re-think my notions of love, despite inwardly believing that romance can sustain a relationship only for so long until the staleness of familiarity twists the love into some new form of appreciation and for some, into a form of disdain.
Life's job is to challenge us and it does. Our jobs as humans with a beating heart is to find the passion in our lives to keep going. Chasing after men and women is as much a good reason to keep going as any, I figure.
Here goes my list...
#1 Last Tango in Paris: A controversial choice, for sure. Filmed in 1972 by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring none other than the late Marlon Brando (he looks trim and fit). Even Brando himself was quoted as saying, "Don't ask me what the film is about." The world at large remembers it for its butter scene (which was faked, by the way). I believe, however, the movie was ahead of its time because it has a great deal to say on the subject of unrealistic expectations when we begin a fling, a relationship, and how knowing more about a person isn't necessarily the best. Ends tragically but then all love ends in loss, more so if its French tragedy. Here's my riddle for you, my X-friends, for this movie: What are the last four words that Brando mumbles? [Hint: I watched this movie 7+ times to figure out Brando's last words. For me, the movie is about emotional liberation and it's what the characters don't say to each other, that gives you the clue to my riddle].
#2 Mrs. Brown: Filmed in 1997. Tour de force acting by Dame Judy Dench and Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, based on historical events of the story about the controversial relationship between the Queen of England and her personal footman. There's no foul language or gratuitous sex but enough of an under-current between two people that you'd think the Red Sea could be parted again. Also ends tragically... boo-hoo!
#3 Shadowlands: Filmed in 1993, starring Sir Anthony Hopkins as C.S. Lewis, professor and renowned writer and Deborah Winger as poet Joy Grisham. OK, I'll admit the director took a tiny bit of creative licence with the story but on the whole this romance flic kicks ass and will leave you sobbing like a two year-old who's dropped their ice cream on the ground after barely one lick. Truly, I've seen a lot of movies in my day but never have I witnessed an entire audience bawling their silly eyes out, men included. Naturally, this one too ends in tragedy. Shakespeare and the Greek dramatists would be proud of my choices thus far! 😘
#4 The Sheltering Sky: Filmed in 1990 by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring John Malkovich and Deborah Winger, set in the stunningly hot climate of North Tangiers, Africa. There is love, lust, pure unadulterated eroticism and a musical score that's worth listening to separately. Sadly, this too ends in tragedy but we are better people for it! Love is like the last precious drop of water held in your palm, until you spread apart your fingers to taste, and everything slips between the cracks. Arguably, the best and longest death scene ever played out by an actor and in this instance to perfection by Malkovich. The man could act his way out of a steel box, I swear.
#5 Le Mari de la Coiffeuse: Filmed in 1990 by the late director Patrice Leconte and starring famous French actor Jean Rochefort and Anna Galiena. Simply story: young boy falls in love with hairdresser. Of course, I hate to say it, ultimately the movie ends with a tragic result but the pure love embodied in their interaction, as he grows from child to man, and then marries the love of his life, is the stuff of what the pinnacle of tragedy should look like if you knew beforehand how it would end. Yet, and despite these obstacles, you'd still fall head over heels into a barrel of worms only because this kind of love is worth losing your mind over. [French with English subtitles]
#6 True Romance: Filmed in 1993 and co-written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. I never tire of watching this action-packed, edge-of-your-seat, quirky flic about two star-crossed lovers going up against some pretty nasty characters. This is my one film choice that doesn't have a tragic ending. One scene in particular, between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper is beyond memorable, iconic, in my opinion, and so much so that I'm pretty sure the film-stock must have curled after they had filmed it.
Admittedly, I didn't choose these titles at random. I chose them with great care, knowing they're almost all tragedies. But then I didn't mislead you. I offered my views at the outset, realizing that to broach the subject of love and romance, I'd have to do so with the knowledge that everything ends.
Love and romance are sweetest when taken with a wedge of tart lime. And as you watch these movies with your lover, let them rest their weary head on your shoulder and cry their eyes out. Intense emotion leads to touching.
