Valentines Special: Films depicting Love and Heartbreak

Valentines. The day of love. A holiday (depending on your situation), that can feel like a bittersweet slap in the face or simply, a warm celebration. Love, sex and dating is such a core part of culture, so much so that the art forms have forever centred around the concept of relationships and love. Cinema is no exception.

Young Love: Moonrise Kingdom

A film that can't not be adored. And no, not just becasue it is directed by the darling Wes Anderson, but because it exudes tenderness and warmth in every detail. His iconic visual style creates a feeling that this film is a fond memory; using a storybook narrative as well as having a fantastical quality in his visual style, Anderson represents young love as a love that is remembered through rose-tinted glasses. Young love, isn't a deep, true love but a signifincant one nonetheless.

Anderson's ode to fashion, literature and music does not miss in this film! Suzy, especially has a French-like quality to her clothes which mirrors her music taste. Her 'favourite song', is the famous French song that they dance to on the beach. I love this song. It is 'Les Temps De L'amour' by Françoise Hardy, Translating to, 'The time of Love', the song is so fitting to the feeling that these two awkward yet brilliant children have. For exmaple these lyrics, 'It is the time of love, the time of friends and adventure.' is a perfect symbol for the adventure and curiousty of a young first love.

The innocence and purity of the two protagnists, is prevalent in the performance of the two children but also in the colour yellow. The choice of the film to be tinted yellow as well as have their tent be yellow is indicating warmth and security. It is the color of young love between Sam and Suzy, and it is the color of the tent where they felt truly loved and comforted. We all have that place, memory, song or person that we a truly ourselves with. For Sam and Suzy, they are just being introduced to this feeling, and experiencing the utter obsession (us against the world) that a first love brings.

A Love that you don't expect: Before Sunrise

A beautiful poem of a film. Anyone who takes public transport regularly, has crossed paths or glanced at a certain person that you feel like you should go over and talk to but you just sit there and, for some reason, plan out your life with them and then realise you’ll never see them again once you come to a stop. Before Sunrise captures that exhilerating feeling perfectly. It brings to life those dreams you have when you are in that limbo period of listening to your music and day dreaming about once in a life time experiences you could be having with them and it feels like you’ve been thinking about it for hours, but it’s only 5 been minutes. It is a love story where that moment is fulfilled and two strangers start talking on a train and spontanuesly decide to continue their travels together and obviusly..fall in love. It is the beauty of the Butterfly effect.

Ugh I've had a (almost) very Before Sunrise moment. 25th August 2022. I was out with my best mates for my birthday and we went to this art/fashion exhibit, pretty sloshed, might i add. And well there I glanced at this extremely hot guy and didnt have the guts to come up to him but of course my friend did and she introduced us. Next thing i know, the week after I'm walking all over London with an Australian, talking for hours, and we exchange a kiss right before he continues his Europe trip, and goes to Berlin. He invites me but i dont go! And thats what the film is about, taking every oppurtunity you have, and seeing where it goes. Dont be scared, literally live life as it comes and dont think about things too much as every curveball is a life lesson.

A Fleeting Love: Blue is the Warmest Colour

One of the rawest films I've seen, Abdellatif Kechiche, captures growth through heartbreak in a magical way. Aside from the controversy surrounding this film, it shoudl still be acknowledged as a stunner of a film. It is a film full of passionate sex scenes that encapsulte the message of the film which is that Sex without love is nothing but life without love is even less.

Kechiche creates extraordinary intertextual references that add layers of meaning to the film, not just symbolic meaning but diegetic meaning that adds layers of meaning to what we get in the narrative. We get many shots of Adèle alone, and it is usually paired with the blue motif which kickstarts the multilayered meaning of the color blue including Adèle’s lostness, her inability to determine her identity, sexuality etc. The colour Blue is used again in hair and makeup. When the love affair starts, Emma has blue hair; as it proceeds, the blue colour grows out. This resembles their love cooling.

The movie's final sequence is eagerly ambiguous. Yet the point is surely that there is no guarantee that either Adèle or Emma will ever find anything as good ever again. The notion that they can each go on to find a better or richer experience is illusory. This isn't young love or first love, it is love: as deep and destructive and sensual and unforgettable as the real thing must always be. Love is a blaze that burns and can also die.

Love isn't always forever but if people have their way it can be: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Another film with blue hair haha! So much to say about this film, but its 11pm on Valentines day and I'm getting tired and now super envious after thinking about all these films about love ugh. But this is an incredible film.

The most unique thing about this film is the narrative and how the characters are portrayed. It doesn't follow the worn-out storyline of a romantic comedy. It lures audiences in with the intricate characters but after the first act, changes howthe audience should perceive them. They are both majorly flawed. Clementine is this manic pixie dream girl trope like character as well as clearly having border personality disorder. Joel is avoidant and unfulfilling. But even with them both being flawed, and perhaps even bad for each other, doesn't undermine the power of heartbrea and the loss of someone in your life.

Side note: if this is your partner's all time favourite...they clearly miss their ex.