As we enter the bleak midwinter (at least mid by Chicagoland standards), my task of searching out good romantic content for this review has been daunting. It took me a while to come to the conclusion you see before you. Maybe it was the lack of love in my own life but perhaps the absolute dreck studio and steaming services have on hand. Every time an ad for Shotgun Wedding came on, my eye rolls became a sort of neurological tick. Upon looking at my rack of Blu-rays, a spark reminded me what made be fall in love with love stories in the first place. Here are some older and possibly overlooked gems for your V-day viewing.
In my last review I recommend Richard Linklater’s latest. If you enjoyed that one, his Before trilogy is a great way to dive into his filmography. Shot every nine years between 1995 and 2013, the film concerns Jessie and Celine played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Each one consists of a simple premise, two people meet in a city, walk around and talk. Given that description it shouldn’t work at all. But it is in the act of getting to know and fully understand both of them that we believe in their romance. It doesn’t hurt that Hawke and Delpy have such amazing chemistry together.
At first glance the opener Before Sunrise felt like a one-off, such a grand instance of lightning striking just as Linklater wanted it. However, when the sequel Before Sunset came out in 2004, a special alchemy seems to exist with the three of them. It was only fitting that the actors collaborated both on this and Before Midnight’s script. They are, in fact, their characters as much as Linklater and script writer Kim Krizan. They have embodied Jessie and Celine for years; brought their own life experiences into the project.
Linklater has had this obsession with the passage of time and how it shapes our perspective. The Before trilogy is only the tip of that iceberg. His twelve-year epic Boyhood took its young star from six to eighteen over the span of two hours and forty minutes. He is currently working on a film version of the musical Merrily We Roll Along which he plans to shoot over the next 20 years. Some may see this as excessive, but it is those nuances that makes these films resonate.
Sitting at home and watching these over again, my thoughts on each consecutive film have grown. The blush of young love in Sunrise felt less urgent and quainter whereas when I got to the big argument in Midnight, the visceral frankness of ripened love and marriage felt more palatable through more of my own experiences. If you haven’t seen these, give them a watch. HBO Max has the first two; you may have to rent the third although Pluto TV has it for free as well. And even if you have, give them a rewatch.
Also on HBO Max is Wong Kai-Wai’s masterpiece In The Mood For Love. Set in 1962 Hong Kong, we meet Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan who have moved next door on the same day. Married to others, they continue to bump into each other going to and from their apartments. As the film progresses, they learn that their respective spouses are carrying on an affair together. But instead of the usual plot contrivances, our focus keeps on our main couple as they slowly begin to fancy each other.
I can gush on this film for hours. My want to live in cinematographer Christopher Doyle’s lighting. How slow-motion cigarette smoke or red flitting curtains can take your breath away. The heat coming off leads Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung is enough to set celluloid on fire. For as chaste as the movie is, it is incredibly sexy. Even if subtitles aren’t your thing, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. And it just so happens that Harper College is also putting on a free screening on February 23 at 6:30 p.m. You may even see me there.
