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Top Ten Romance Movies of All Time

Top Ten Romance Movies

One of the most common ways to discuss art is to rank it, and for what its worth I think it is a fairly simple and trouble free technique to at least start a conversation which has a possibility to go further detailed analysis.

So without any further ado I present you with my list of best Romance movies ever created.

Before jumping straight to the list some Honorable Mentions are as follows-

À bout de souffle (1960)

Punch–Drunk Love (2002)

City Lights (1931)

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Lost in translation (2003)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Now lets jump to the main list

10 Her (2013)

Now its not the first time Spike Jonze has made an almost masterpiece, in fact he did it before several times be it in ‘Being John Malkovich’ or ‘Adaptation’ but throw in Hoytema’s cinematography and Joaquin’s amazing performance and what you get is the wonder ‘Her’ is. Her is a study of melancholia associated with love, what makes it more amazing is that the movie drives itself away from traditional romance narrative and is set in a sci-fi universe.

9 Scener ur ett äktenskap (aka Scenes from a Marriage) (1973)

Although it is technically a television miniseries but one can see this Swedish work as a movie anyways. Over the years I have watched lots of movies about separation like ‘500 days of summer’ or ‘blue valentine’, but none of them left impact as deep as this one. The most fundamental quality which makes this movie far apart from any others is its capability to make one feel the pain of falling apart from love the breathtaking performances by the actors and the extremely realistic tone of the film left me dazzled.

8 Before Sunrise (1995)

Only a handful of movies in history of cinema were able to represent love in a simple way rather than the constant drama, Before Sunrise in one such film, almost everything about thing movie is simple from the characters and costumes to the dilemmas and dialogues still strangely the movie manages to do something far from simple. At the core this film is just about conversation between two strangers how this conversation manages to indulge audiences into it is the beauty o the film. The other two movies in the trilogy were not as good according to me which is a bummer.

7 A room with a view (1985)

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When it comes to romance British Period Cinema has an advantage to it that is British charm, and the movie takes complete advantage of it. When I first read the book I remember thinking that their is no way the movie can to justice to, but I couldn’t had been more wrong. The best thing about this movie is rather than displaying emotions it makes you feel it, the film makes you feel all kinds of restriction in a christian society in historical setup. The cast of the movie is again great ‘Helena Bonham Carter’, ‘Maggie Smith’, and ‘Daniel Day Lewis’ were in their ultimate performances.

6 Amour (2012)

They say that French love more than others, and if anything ‘Amour’ is another point in addition to the saying. This french movie is very unique in its representation of love. I mean how often is that you sit to watch a romantic movie and find out there are no young leads in it? Amour proved that a romantic movie can be great even without all the young glamour which seems very necessary nowadays.

5 Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (2004)

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I love ‘Kate Winslet’, I love ‘Jim Carrey’ hence I had high expectations from this movie when I decided to watch it, and I was not even a bit disappointed .The unique narrative of the movie mixed with sci fi elements makes the movie almost perfect. It is very difficult to hate this movie I think for anyone the cinematography is great and the general flow of the movie is very smooth, Jim again shines like he always does in serious roles and Kate’s acting is amazing again like always.

4 Annie Hall (1977)

‘Annie Hall’ is the best example of Woddy Allen’s classic brand of storytelling. The movie is ode to ‘New York’, its a story about a man, a woman and a city. The way this movie portrays urban neurosis is outstanding. The film takes very simple moments from the protagonists life and shows how it all adds up, the breaking of fourth wall adds to the charm of movie. The movie at times is very funny while at other times sad. The film is an intellectual take on human psyche. Diane’s performance is as always legendary.

3 Brief Encounter (1945)

Two married strangers meet at a railway station it may seem like a rather ordinary plot but it gets better . In order to completely understand and eventually enjoy this movie one should be able to differentiate text from the subtext almost every dialogue has even more in depth meaning. The film is study of human dilemma, morals, ethics and actions. The story is very subtle in nature the protagonists are initially even shown to be happy from their respective spouses how their character arc emerges throughout the film is fascinating to watch, the struggle the protagonists face with themselves is another theme of the movie.

2 In The Mood For Love (2000)

This movie from Hong Kong is one of my favorite movies of all time I wanted this film to be first on my list and it almost was, ‘In The Mood For Love’ is a great movie in so many aspects, discussing all of them would require a separate post altogether. Every frame of the movie is like a painting and every scene like a poem. Every scene is designed so meticulously it leaves the viewers in awe, the soundtrack of the movie could not have been better from Spanish songs to Chinese tunes every music is perfect. The lead actor Tony Leung’s performance is one of best I have ever seen. This movie is one of the greatest films ever made.

1 Casablanca (1942)

Casablanca according to me is the epitome of filmmaking, the film is well written, well acted, well directed, well edited, and extremely stylish, it has all the elements of a perfect romance. The film is as moving and as powerful today as when it was released in 1942. The setup of the film is around world war in a African city of Casablanca where our protagonist is a nightclub owner trying to forget his past before a woman walking in his life again.

Casablanca is a cinematic masterpiece it is as perfect as a movie can get in terms of the feelings generated within viewers or the craft of cinema. The costumes used are perfect the set if extraordinary. All of those points combine to make Casablanca best romantic movie of all time

Art and why it matters

As a cinema lover, I’m a person who can watch a particular film multiple times with the same kind of excitement and surprisingly each time it evokes a different emotion in me. However, I had never given a thought as to why I never get ‘bored’ of watching them over and over again until recently. Neither could I fathom how a person can listen to a song on loop or reread books basking in every bit of them every time. But before actually proceeding to ‘whys and hows’, at the risk of slightly deviating from the topic, let me quote a Sanskrit pun here, to corroborate my point, that goes like this:

कादंबरीरसज्नानां आहारोपि न रोचते

Kadambari in this context implies two meanings. One, it refers to the greatest literary work of Bhanabatta. Two, Kadambari also means liquor. So the pun roughly translates as a person absorbed in the Rasa of Kadambari can even forget about food.

The pun very appropriately captures the essence of Art! Art can transform lives; Art can make one forget everything including oneself; Art is Experience; Art is transcendental; Finally Art is Art in itself.

At any time between 200 BC to present if you ask a student of Hindu Darshana about the objective of art, he/she would invariably say, ‘Rasa’. And if you ask the point of that, you will find that Rasa has a transcendent value, it creates a Bhava (feeling) which is very difficult to explain using rationale and logic. Rasa can evoke the emotion of Bhakti, Prema, pain, pity, fear etc. The primary goal of Rasa is not to entertain but to raise the audience’s consciousness, to rise above the material and aim for something higher.

Art connects the human with the transcendental. It’s an expression of gods and goddesses, a way to rise above the human consciousness and experience the divine. When we listen to a beautifully composed melody, observe a beautiful painting, read a beautiful written prose, witness a beautiful dance momentarily we tend to forget our surroundings, our pains and pleasures, we get lost in the artform.

In the preface of The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), Oscar Wilde argues that “all art is quite useless”. For Wilde, Art, hence beauty, had a value higher than usefulness. People need useless things even more than they need things which are useful. Just think of it, what’s the use of love, friendship, worship? None.

Our consumer society puts usefulness first and beauty is merely a side effect. We discard everything that’s not useful or when something doesn’t serve our appetite.

Art in modern times is largely viewed through the lens of usefulness or a kind of gain that we are likely to derive from something. Usefulness is often limited to materialistic realm which is mostly arranged on the lines of consumption and satisfaction relationship. This relationship, in turn, stems from the need to possess or own something. In this context, the initial question can be answered by asking ourselves another question as to why we listen to music or read books, for example. The answer to this one is quite simple: that it has no definite answer. One may agree to the fact that we simply fail to offer any reason as to why we enjoy Art. We may only feel hunger but cannot explain the reason we do. Art is an experience which is beyond ‘whys’. An experience which cannot be restricted to the consumption-satisfaction relationship. The Sanskrit pun quoted above captures how Kadambari (or literature in general) keeps one immersed and transports him/her to a new world. To further extend this, the pun inherently suggests that the ‘enoughness’ or the satisfaction may not always be derived from Art. In other words, Art serves a higher purpose which is beyond any logic.

It is more or less an undeniable fact that humans have sought refuge in art in myriad ways from time immemorial. Turning back the pages of history we learn how Indian kings were great patrons of art and/or artists themselves. In fact Natyashastra—the greatest treatise on performing arts—categorises Nayaka (loosely translated as ‘hero’) into four types of which Dheeralalitha is one of them. A Dheeralalitha Nayaka is typically a lover of Art. King Udayana in the play Svapna Vasavadatta is a classic example of Dheeralalitha Nayaka where the character is not only an exceptional patron of Art but also a great artist (Veena Vadaka) himself. Art has, therefore, been an integral part of Indian civilisation or any civilisation for that matter.

Drawing reference from Srimad Bhagavata Purana, one of the 18 Puranas in Hinduism, we can understand how Art is a medium to connect with god—the divinity. The Navavidha Bhakti or the nine ways of worshiping god mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana prescribes Keertanam (singing/music) as one way of expressing Bhakti to the god. In other words, Art serves as a medium for one to experience divinity. Many times a painting or a music concert may often arouse a kind of inexplicable overwhelming feeling in us or what is known as a transcendental experience. It is the same feeling of divinity which can make one forget the world. The larger purpose of Art is, therefore, to connect with divinity where a person is one with the divine.

Art is also a tool through which we can figure out philosophy, and learn how to think and build arc of logic. I, in fact, believe that art is a better way to discover philosophy when compared to philosophical books. Most Indians may not be able to absorb the crux of Ramayana by studying it but they often do through Ramlila (plays on Ramayana), through bhajans or through cinema. Most of the teachings of sages may not reach the common public but they may more easily relate to it through folk songs, dance or other artforms . Art becomes a medium to translate complex ideas to a simpler language which common people can easily understand. We may not always understand the concept of right, wrong, Dharma, Adharma, Satya, Asatya, righteousness, indecency through lectures but it becomes easily relatable through Art.

Culture develops around Art. We may see every sophisticated society in the world would have Art in its center. Be it dance forms like Kathak, Garba, Bhangra, Bihu, Flamenco,Waltz or Ballet. Be it music like Carnatic classical, Thumri, romantic era classical, or Opera or be it paintings like Pahari, Impressionist, or miniature paintings. And the list is endless. A good culture and hence a good society can only be built around beautiful art.

Authors

Nikita Nagaraj

Abhinav Pathak

Greatest Modern Day Directors

The most important factor I consider before watching a movie is its director. Over the years their are many directors who have made me fall in love, with the art of film making. If I mention all those directors the list will go on forever, so I decided to limit my listing to modern day directors for this post. I will make a separate list of my all time favorite directors in some other post. Another thing I would mention is that as time proceeds my list may change based on movies I have watched.

I have considered directors from all over the world who made significant amount of quality films after the year 1990.

Honorable Mentions

Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox)

Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, My neighbor Totoro)

Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Prisoners, Sicario, )

Peter Jackson (Lord of The Rings ,The Hobbit)

Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Salesman)

Richard Linklalter( Boyhood, Before Trilogy)

James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar)

10 : Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The favorite, The Lobster)

I think if we talk about surrealistic cinema no one can defeat this legendary Greek filmmaker, I fell in love with his work after watching ‘Dogtooth’, from there I went on to love ‘The Lobster’, ‘Alps’ and ‘The Favorite’. Now unlike most directors Yorgos takes challenges to introduce new elements in cinema, almost like avant-garde. Yorgos will be remembered in history who elevated the standard of cinema.

9 : Damien Chazelle (Whiplash , La La Land, First Man)

What can I say about a filmmaker whose first major movie was the masterpiece ‘Whiplash’, when I watched whiplash I thought the director really understands art (not specifically art of film-making but art in general), Damien was able to draw attention of viewers towards the passion of following what you love with whiplash, and I thought that’s it no one could surpass that until he did it again with ‘La La Land’. Last man was another of his movie which deserves special mention although it was not like his first to films I enjoyed it.

8: Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Interstellar,Dunkirk)

Over the years Nolan has became one of the major pop culture favorite and for all the right reasons no one in history of cinema (apart from Kubrick) has been able to take the Sci-fi Genre to the heights as this man. His collaborations with musician ‘Hans Zimmer’ resulted in some of the most epic melodies ever. Apart from Sci-fi his other works such as Dunkirk, Memento, and The Prestige are one of the best films of modern cinema.

7 : David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en, Gone Girl, Zodiac, The Social Network)

You know a director is brilliant, when his early directorial venture includes Se7en, and Fight Club. Fincher is one of those director who follow the same formula but applies them in different ways thereby creating one good film over other. His fascination with Serial Killers resulted in some of the excellent movies such as Zodiac and Se7en. When Fincher directs TV shows they again are great such as ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Mindhunter’.

6 : Wong Kar-wai (In The Mood For Love, Chungking Express, 2046)

Apart from rocking a great pair of shades this director from Hong Kong, makes great movies too. Wong Kar-wai makes movies with breathtaking visuals, be it ‘Happy Together’, ‘Chungking Express’ or my personal favorite ‘In The Mood For Love’ all his movies have most unique ccinematography. The way characters move in frames, the elegant use of slow motion and unique color combination always makes me hypnotized.

5 : Bong Joon-ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer, Memories Of Murder, Okja)

The first movie of Bong Joon-ho I watched was ‘Snowpiercer’ and I was astonished the way he designed the thriller such that it kept me on the edge of my seat, after that I saw his other movies ,and each impressed me ,but when I saw Parasite last year, the director became one of my favorites. Bong’s movies are filled with social and class differences also his films cannot be categorized in one genre it is generally combination of different genres.

4: Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, The Master, Phantom Thread)

Paul Thomas Anderson has one of the most innovative take on the craft of film making he uses different pacing technique, he uses various blocking methods the camerawork and cinematography are in complete control of him. Apart from all that one other thing I find interesting about PTA is that he always collaborates with the best of actors Daniel Day Lewis, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix.

3: Quentin Tarantino(Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Bastards, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

The violence, blood and vengeance are always great things to watch in a film, luckily we have a director who dedicated his work to those. Quentin Tarantino’s brand of film making over the years has became cult classic, his use of pop music even in bloody situations is amusing and the underlying comedy is perhaps the best part I like about his work.

2: Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List,Jurassic Park,Saving Private Ryan)

Epic themes, heart-wrenching dramas, thrillers, or sci-fi be it any genre he has made great movies in all of them. Steven Spielberg is a director who goes on great extents to make his films. I have problem with racist elements in some of his films (Raiders of the lost Ark for example) but in general I like his work even his earlier works have been great ‘e.t’ for one. Spielberg was one of the first directors whose movies I watched in a language other than my native.

1: Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino, Silence, The Irishman,The Aviator, The Departed)

What can I write about the man that has not already been written. Martin Scorsese is everything cinema represents, he has been the best entertainer in my life and is continuing to be so. Almost everything about Scorsese’s direction is perfect, from the world building inspired by his own childhood to great use of music, from the crime dramas to the eternal solace, from his devoid from spirituality to his deep thoughts about it, all of them can be felt in his movies. I mean his not so good movie can be ‘Shutter Island’ which is one of the best thriller I have watched in my entire life.

Martin Scorsese has done his movies about various conditions of human psyche, the vulnerability in ‘The Departed’, the helplessness in ‘Taxi Driver’, the hopefulness in ‘The Aviator’ or the loneliness in ‘The Irishman’ all of those feelings are directed by this legendary film-maker.

Scorsese’s collaborations with Bobby de Niro and Leonardo di Caprio are perhaps two of the greatest collaborations in cinema history.

Top 15 movies of 2019

I would say that after 1999, 2019 was the most amazing year in cinema, from countries across all the continents (particularly Asian countries) gave exceptionally good movies. Excellent cinema came from all the genres be it animated, romance, drama and even horror.

When their are so many great movies it makes the job of picking the best of them is very difficult so some of the movies could not make the final cut hence some Honorable Mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

Ford v Ferrari

Joker

Gloria Bell

Midsommar

Honey Boy

Ride Your Wave (sincerely underrated anime)

Ying (Shadow) (China)

Ad Astra

Top 15 movies of 2019

15 Ash Is The Purest White (China)

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Before from this the only ‘Jia Zhangke’ movie I saw was ‘Still Life’, and I liked that but when I saw this it seems the director has crossed himself. The movie gives accounts of criminal underground operations in China, the film is set in last few decades. The story spans over a period of 17 years the growth of ‘China’ can be seen parallel to the story in start the movie seems somewhat cliche but as the story progresses we go deep and deep inside the protagonists especially Zhao Qiao.

14 The Two Popes

This movie is based on true story of the current pope ‘Pope Francis’. The essential part of the movie is conversation between the two protagonists. Again the actors are extremely good, it is refreshing to see Antony Hopkins in such unique type of role role and Jonathan Pryce did not disappointed me at all I was fan of the actor since Game of Thrones and he lived up to the expectation, the plot is surprisingly thrilling and the cinematography is crisp the documentary like feel it gives is very unique.

13 Uncut Gems

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I am a huge fan of Adam Sandler in serious roles since ‘Punch Drunk Love’, and god he is serious in ‘Uncut Gems’. I never thought this movie would be so thrilling ,I had an uncomfortable feeling throughout the movie from start to finish that too in a good way. The protagonists wants to be successful and in the pursuit of success makes high stakes bet the plot itself is heart pounding, the cinematography is very realistic which again adds to the thriller.

12 Jo Jo Rabbit

I love when Nazis are portrayed in a comedy setup. Jo Jo Rabbit is one of the most fresh comedies I have seen in many years, the performances by actors ‘Roman Griffin Davis’ and ‘Taika Waititi’ are phenomenal. The costume selection is exceptional, and cinematography is unique and the film is made to look like a children movie.

11 Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory)

I can go on and comment on all the thing good in this movie but according to me the performances of the actors outshines all of them. This Spanish Drama will have you hooked to it emotionally, you will feel all kinds of things such pain, heartbreak as well as sometimes ,happiness.

10 Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

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I decided to watch this movie ,well because of Tarantino and I was not disappointed. The film is funny and dramatic, but overall I think its Tarantino’s love letter to Hollywood, it has all the elements one can find in early Hollywood movies, the action, the stardom and the, glamour. The performance of Brad Pitt is extremely good and Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate is good too.

9 J’ai perdu mon corps (I Lost My Body)

We had many good animations this year, we had Toy Story, Klaus and The Magnificent Cake all of them were good but this trumps them all. It had one of the most unique storyline of this year. The movie is about a hand separated from its body, the movie follows the course of path taken by the hand in order to get his bod together. The way the hand is projected is so human like, we even feel sorrow ,sympathy and happiness for the hand.

8 1917

1917 is the best war based movie I have seen since Dunkirk. The movie is shot such that it looks like one shot something like Birdman ,which is a cinematography challenge. Performances of actors are amazing and the movie succeeds in making you feel anxious like you yourself are part of war, the plot of movie revolves around two men who are asked to deliver a message. The music could not be more thrilling.

7 Knives Out

Knives out is a classic ‘whodunnit’ but it is very different from other detective movies, it does not follows traditional storytelling the movie gives much of the information early on. Daniel Craig’s accent is unique and does not feel forced while all the other actors are in their best forms, the movie kept me in the edge of my seat entire time.

6 The Farewell

The Farewell is a very heartfelt movie which is based on a true story, The Farewell is also hilarious in a very subtle way, the plot of movie is engaging. The farewell is about a family which visits China for meeting the family’s oldest lady who they found is diagnosed with cancer, an information which rest of the family decides not to give the patient. The plot takes many funny turns and ends in a feelgood note.

5 The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is one of the most unique take at horror I have seen, the story is very genuine ,no amount of extra jump-scares or music is used still it manages to scare the viewers. The lighthouse makes the simplest of plot and makes it interesting. The movie involves two lighthouse keepers who start very naturally but after some circumstances cant stand each other. The actors did good work so did the cinematographer.

4 Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)

Set in France in the late 18th century, the film tells the story of a forbidden affair between an aristocrat and a painter appointed to paint her portrait. The protagonist is to be married to a man she doesn’t want to marry. A female painter is hired to paint the portrait of woman to be married but only through memory, so the painter spends time with the woman in order to remember her face, from here movie takes many turns. The colors used in movie gives it a painting like feel.

3 Marriage Story

Now, Marriage Story does not has the most unique plot, its about a couple getting divorced, but the movie as far as craft is concerned the movie broke all the boundaries, the cinematography is exceptional, the editing is crisp and like never seen before and the performances of the leads could not have gotten better, sincerely at one fight scene the exchange of dialogue between two leads can be considered one of the best. The direction of the movie is extremely good which I did not expected when I decided to watch the movie. We feel for the characters we fell how its everybody’s or no one’s fault, the setting could not be more realistic.

2 Parasite

Parasite is a social commentary on the difference between social classes how they have different views about various situations. Parasite is a directorial epitome it cannot get any better I have seen Bon Joon Ho films before such as Snowpiercer, Host and Okja all of them were great but none of them were like it. Actors in this movie are masters of their craft, Parasite is unpredictable one cannot know the direction the movie is headed, it keeps you on the edge of seat. Parasite is hilarious, thrilling, dramatic and sometimes even scary.

1 The Irishman

I do not associate myself with the politics and controversies surrounding Martin Scorsese, but if I ever make list of my favorite filmmakers he would be pretty high on that list. I was excited for this movie a from long time it may not be for everyone but it was for me. The Irishman is the type of film-making which got me interested in cinema in first place. The Irishman has all the classic elements of Scorsese Italian setup, montages and crime world but in addition to it it talks about deep thing the movie is about loneliness, mistakes of past, about past itself, the movie is about conflict between choices and outcomes. I think I do not need to mention that the actors performances were phenomenal.

Introduction

Do you love movies? Do you often take time out of your life and dedicate it to films? If yes then this Blog is for you.

I am what many people nowadays may refer to as a cinephile. Movies have always fascinated me. I think movies are not only one of the greatest forms of entertainment but they are much more than that. Movies connect with a person in most unique ways be it visual or auditory. I can go on and on about movies but I think that’s a topic for some other post.

We love reading things we are interested in, it can be anything from paintings, calligraphy to space and time. I think that many people love movies and want to discuss with other people that is the reason I am blogging about them. So that we cinema appreciators can find common grounds.