4 Love Lessons From Movies That Decode The Art Of Love
Love is one of the most common themes used in films across various genres. It’s always rewarding to observe the characters as they ignite sparks with their romantic pursuits. These characters face their share of relationship challenges that keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering whether your favorite characters will end up together in the end. But these characters leave behind a trail of some life-changing takeaways when it comes to matters of the heart.
Art that shows love can be one of the most compelling artistic mediums for learning about romance. Love as an individual theme can be portrayed in so many unique ways.
From fairy tale endings to love that never ends well, to broken hearts we see love stories of all kinds take shape. Sometimes it feels like a snowflake made just for you while sometimes it feels like puzzle pieces that don’t fit together.
Roses come with thorns and just like that love can be bitter-sweet. These six love films will tell you how love comes in all shapes and sizes. In the end, Love is Love. To know more let’s dive in!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)
Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire features two young women, Marianne as an artist and Héloïse as the subject of her latest commission. The story unwinds as they find themselves slowly drawn into a passionate love affair. A brief love affair that was about to stay with them for the rest of their lives.
The movie embodies the transformative power of love and how someone’s love can leave a lasting impression on your heart. It talks about how the duration or the depth of your love is merely frivolous but all that matters is any kind of love being exchanged at all.
The use of symbolism throughout the movie produces a significant impact. Fire is an important symbol throughout the film. It builds a cosmic connection between the pair, demonstrating how both charming and pernicious it is. Their love affair here is paralleled by the chaotic character of fire.
The movie explicitly defies the standards set for women of the time. It was prohibited for women to create nude paintings of both sexes, but Marianne is portrayed as an artist who fearlessly illustrated them on her canvas.
The story of love between Héloïse and Marianne was bracing and heartbreaking at the same time. It’s a movie that shows how two women find freedom in love and despite their brief exchange, they gather love that will fulfill them for the rest of their lives.
Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017)
Luca Guadagnino’s, “Call Me By Your Name” represents the colors of first love. The love story between Elio and Oliver moves from self-discovery to heartbreak and the filmmaker cleverly uses colors to convey these overarching themes.
This is a coming-of-age love story that operates invisibly and excels in its sensuality. There are a lot of symbolic references that are used in the movie using the set and the props. The house in which they live is so large and yet the large echoing noises give a glimpse into the emptiness of the house.
Elio is so captivated by Oliver and soon finds himself torturously in love. All along he tries to fruitlessly fight his feelings for him, at least in the beginning. The movie demonstrates the romance between two young men who fall for each other without overhanging rednecks. It’s just a love story that is humanizing and you almost get transported to their world.
“Call Me By Your Name” stands so unique as a love story because the lovers here never had to put it into words to know that they love each other. Words are futile devices and Elio and Oliver’s love story was a relationship filled with instant chemistry.
500 Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009)
500 Days of Summer is a love story that unfolds in a non-linear fashion. The movie is presented from the point of view of Tom, a greeting card writer, and a die-hard romantic. It was love at first sight for Tom when he met Summer who was his boss’ assistant.
But on the contrary, Summer was someone who did not believe that true love existed. As the story moves forward we see the events unravel a different story. It fits very close to an unrequited love story because Summer never shared the same feelings as Tom. He believed their love was forever but was left heartbroken when Summer broke up with him.
A love story that tells us that failing relationships are not the end of the world. If you have perceived that they are “The One” and if that does not end well then it wasn’t meant to be. But how to know it’s time to move on? You often get lost in love and fail to notice the visible signs. Just remember, you cannot force someone to love you. Hence, unrequited love isn’t the end of it all, but rather a sign that you were not as compatible as you thought you were.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
When this romantic sci-fi drama starts, we almost take it to be a classic girl-meets-boy story when Joel and Clementine cross paths on a train and strike up a conversation. A movie that tells us about how love is an extremely complicated experience and no matter how far you go sometimes it’s hard to forget.
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” shows love’s strange, surreal and dark side and defines the wounds that come with true love. If your love ends it does not mean you are all over it at once, because true love is too powerful to erase. The only way to learn, grow and move forward is to accept your separation and not attempt to avoid it.
Final Thoughts
These romances have always inspired us in some or the other way. For me, it’s the offbeat nature of these love stories that stand the test of time. They are unconventional and unique and show us that love is both beautiful and painful. These films about love challenge the narrative of recurring themes in popular culture and exhibit the reality of love.
