Top 10 Films: Romance

Top 10 Romance Films

Love; it is an undeniable feeling.  It is a feeling that transcends lines of race, color and gender orientation.  It is, if portrayed correctly in film, can be a great tale to watch unfold between two or multiple people.  What defines a good romance film is the uniqueness of its aura.  They are plenty films that encompasses the ideas love.  Even for the redundancy of applying this common emotion, the truly great one’s find a way to stand out.  This happens when the film pulls the curtain back, pushing beyond the standard elements of its story and gives us (the audience) that raw and riveting emotional tale the puts the human feeling at the forefront.  A truly great romance film is one where the love that is formed is greater than all the typical tropes; it makes you feel the truth of it.  You can go beyond the most unbelievable situations and see that love has no bounds.  This is what I believe forms a great Romance film.  With that being said, here are my top 10 Romance films.

10. The Notebook – You can say whatever you want to say; but this is one of the quintessential romance films of the 21st century. No matter the emotional ride you will experience; the rawness of the relationship here makes you feel as if you’re present for the ride. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams carry this film through the highs and lows of the ideals of love, as the film jumps back and forth between time lines.  Watching the perils of love, you come to learn that time can never take away what two people can truly feel.   This is why it starts off my Top 10.

9. Slumbdog Millionaire – An Oscar winner for Best Picture; this film takes a unique approach to the ideals of finding and keeping that one true love. It portrays a story of a young man in India as he becomes a contestant on a game show to win the ultimate cash prize. What you come to find out is that for each question asked, it parallel’s a point in his journey that led him to take on this fateful game of riches.  In the end, what the ultimate prize comes to be is much more than money can buy.  What this film does is break the cliché trope of riches, stature and social injustice, showing how nothing can stop you from that one person that defines who you are.  This film shows you the reason that you never lose faith to finding that one true love.

8. Pride and Prejudice – A romance film set during the 18th century; it follows the common trials of how you fight and forge something from the instance of love. In this film, you see how people fight against social prejudice and battle their own pride to find what really matters to them. This film stands out on my list for the purity of sequences; as the folly of passion leads to unpredictable outcomes.  Even as life throws everything in their way; love always seems to win. Keira Knightley gives a breathtaking performance, one that has constantly defined her career.

7. Lost in Translation – The raw genius that this film gives us is not normal by any stretch of a common romance story.  The unique concept of taking the ‘fish out of water’ and molding it with a ‘dark comedy’ creates a story where two outcasts find something budding within them when together. Scarlet Johansson and Bill Murray form an unlikely pair, but one that is believable.  Within that uncommon scenario, you feel the clarity of their relationship.  There is something ‘familiar’ in this ‘odd’ story; one that makes you get lost within their own momentary romance.

6. Cold Mountain – How far will you go for love? That is the question asked in this post-civil war film. A wounded soldier fights along a perilous journey to make his way back home to his former sweetheart.  That journey, along with the faith his sweetheart keeps, is what pulls you through this film.  It is a layering of chance, choice and love.  The question of how far you will go turns into an answer of worth and warmth; where love is the reason to fight through all the pain.  The bittersweet reunion caps off this emotional ride, and one of the reasons it is in my Top 10.  Also, you feel the power through the acting combination of Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and supporting actress winner Renee Zellweger.

5. Amelie – This French film makes me giddy just thinking about it. It is a genuine tale of the simplistic life. We come to be introduced to a girl named Amelie; someone that helps and puts others ahead in finding love.  Along this path, she discovers her own.  This movie stands out for its quirky situations and virtuous appeal.  It grounds everything to a personal scale, were the purity of the human heart shows unquestionably.  This is a truly great foreign classic and one that defines the heart of innocence when falling in love.

4. Her – A poignant and riveting tale; Her is a film that takes a concept of love and flips it upside down. A man falling in love with a computer operating system just seems so unreal.  This is what makes this story ironically genuine.  That appeal of contrast, finding raw emotional connection on a human scale, causes you to forget the barriers of physical contact and see love for what it really is.  Dialogue driven at an all time high, Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson (voice) give some of the best performances of their lives in this unique love story.

3. Casablanca – a tale for the ages; this is a film that’s timeless through the decades.  Set in North Africa during the early days of WWII, we find two ex-lovers cross paths. Through a story of redemption, retribution and returned feelings of love; we go along this journey with these two individuals.  What we find is that they will come to a place where unforeseen things happen that lead to hard decisions having to be made.  I say this film is timeless because it is a story that has stood as one of the best through the decades.  With the ultimate decision being one that forms the ideals of ‘unorthodox’ methods; the ultimate test of love, faith and commitment forms everything within the main characters.  This is a real story of human nature; one that has been redone and tried to achieve with their own varying of success in other films.  Even so, this original kind of love story makes my Top 10.

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – This is a film that is also on my top 10 favorites list. Since I have described this before, I will be short and sweet with my explanation. I’ll reiterate; this is probably the most unique love story to ever hit the big screen (even more than Her).  The unique direction this film goes to describe love; it shows us that even for the most endearing of thoughts, the backdrop of reality will always make us try to forget.   This method gives us something that’s heartbreaking but relevant.  The imaginative of storytelling and plot elements pushes the ideals of love to a whole other scale.   What you come to find (as I said on my favorite list) is what is true to one’s heart.   This film will make you feel something, doing a great job in molding genres into its own kind.  This is why it is near the top of my list, but it isn’t the one.

1. Love Actually – There is something to be said about the raw ideals of ‘what is love’. No matter what your age, race or stature is, love seems to cross and unite in the most unexpected of ways. The pure idea of love and its connection is best defined within this film; Love Actually.  Told over the course of multiple story-lines that cross each other; it gives you the highs and lows of what love is, does and can be.  Within this ensemble cast, you can find something to relate to, or at least know how someone feels.  From the heartache, pain, and suffering to the joyous, reunion and happiness appeal, you witness it all.  Within that thread, the curtain of the film is pulled back as you get to see what love actually is (no pun intended).  This may surprise some, or maybe not … but this is why I consider Love Actually my number one romance film.