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The skeptic romantic (Moviebuff)

I was never a fan of romantic movies. But then they say, it is the critic who always falls in love, the deepest. Most of these movies were not box office hits, which unfortunately is the easiest way to rate movies. Hence this list.

There's something different about these movies. Liberation, something which only a romantic can relate to. So light an aftertaste, so light, you are not sure what the taste was. But so clear, that it caught your passion. It did not let you raise off your chair, or change channels, or step away to refill that mug.

All these movies show love, true love, giving those in love an ability to be more. Do what they most wanted to. To have the confidence of their partner in them. Probably to realize what they most wanted from their lives, identify their true aspiration and career.

These are movies that have tried to show what it means. Told by those who have known it or known someone who has known true love. I was a skeptic, and hence my confession I felt had to be out there.

1.       A walk in the clouds: (1995)
a.       Directed by Alfonso Arau. Starring Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Giancarlo Giannini.
b.      This movie shows how random these choices seem. One bit that sticks out, however is how every action by the lead characters are driven subconsciously in a single direction. It shows how these decisions are never easy. It shows in stark contrast how your priorities in life, suddenly look completely different from what you thought them to be.
2.       Letters to Juliet: (2010)
a.       Director Gary Winick. Starring Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan, Vanessa Redgrave, Gael García Bernal, and Franco Nero. Inspired by the 2006 non-fiction book, Letters to Juliet, by Lise Friedman and Ceil Friedman.
b.      The movie shows how true love is often found in the most unexpected corners. How easy it is to miss seeing it. This movie shows how wrong the logical side interprets feelings and priorities for us.
3.       You’ve got mail: (1998)
a.       Directed by Nora Ephron. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
b.      One point that this movie shows clearly is the difference between the two roles Meg Ryan’s character sees of Tom Hank’s character in the first half of the movie. It shows the difference between what her logical side sees in Tom’s character, and what her heart aspires for and finds in her pen-pal/email-pal.
4.       Kate and Leopold: (2001)
a.       Directed by James Mangold. Starring Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber.
b.      This movie shows how the choices need not be clear enough to make the right discision. Even though the signs are exaggerated for the benefit of the larger audience, the decisions are never easy, and the path is never clear.

And for those who can understand Hindi:

1.       Kuch Kuch hota hai
2.       Dil Chahta hai
3.       Hamari Adhuri Kahani
4.       Jab we met
5.       Kanbhi Alvida na kehena
6.       Kal ho na ho
7.       Rockstar


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