R E C O M M E N D A T I O N – M O V I E
Tanzina Tabassum Nova, Tasnia Shahrin
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and romantic movies that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside are exactly what you need in this pandemic version of the Love Day. Whether you are in any romantic relationship or not, the day is all about love and what better way to spend it than to watch a few romantic movies alone or with that special somebody.
We recommend you some movies that you should definitely watch this Valentine’s Day.
A Star is Born (2019)
The fourth remake of the classic Hollywood myth, A Star is Born by Bradley Cooper tells the story of a gorgeous heartbreak. With heart wrenching performances from Lady Gaga and Bradley, the story of two people brought together by their love of music and torn apart by their opposite paths to fame is a heavy burden for your eyes.
If you’re in the mood to watch a classic old fashioned romantic story in the modern world, this movie is a perfect watch. Bonus, it gives you the taste of unexpected yet amazing musical performances by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
Lost in Translation
Directed by Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation is a film that plays with themes of faithfulness, disillusionment, and commercialism. It is a story surrounding American movie star Bob played by Bill Murray and Charlotte played by Scarlett Johansson. The setting is in Japan which makes it a film that portrays a connection between two Americans adrift in Tokyo.
Begin Again
This musical comedy-drama by John Carney shows how music can bring people together. Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo) is a formerly successful record level executive, who finds it difficult to keep up with the changing times. He goes on a drinking spree after getting fired from his job and finds Gretta James (Keira Knightley), an independent songwriter, singing at a bar. The best thing about Begin Again is the positive vibe that it spreads. This also has brilliant music and acting performances, which makes it a perfect watch for Valentine’s Day.
Life in a Metro
Love isn’t all about roses and dates. People can often prioritise their own needs and take calculative decisions in a relationship — a bitter truth about love that we hardly see in the movies of the romantic genre. Director Anurag Basu portrays the multiple elements of relationships, including which aren’t loved and appreciated, yet is a major reality of day to day life.
A great watch for people who want to introspect the concept of love from the lens of reality.
Barfi!
Another Anurag Basu movie, Barfi isn’t a typical Bollywood’s rich boy meets poor girl story. This film is one of a kind as it explores a relationship between a deaf and mute boy and an autistic girl. It has powerful performances by Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ileana D’Cruz that struck a chord for its honest portrayal of love.
Masaan
This movie narrates two different stories which intertwine with each other at one point. One of them is the story of Devi (Richa Chadda). While she is a at a hotel room with her boyfriend, the room is raided by the police, and her boyfriend dies of suicide. The second story is about Deepak (Vicky Kaushal) from the Dom community, who wants to do better in his life, so he studies Civil Engineering at a polytechnic institute. There he meets and falls in love with Shaalu (Shweta Tripathi). Masaan is not your average Bollywood love story. Combined with amazing music by Indian Ocean, and stellar acting performances from the actors, this directorial debut by Neeraj Ghaywan is beautiful.
The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water tells the story of a mute character Elisa played by Sally Hawkins who works as a cleaning lady for an aerospace research center in the early 1960s. One day, she discovers some kind of non-human creature (Doug Jones) in a tank full of water. Finding herself to care for him, Elisa keeps visiting, bringing him hard-boiled eggs, and playing music.
However, as the cruel Colonel Strickland (Michael Shannon) keeps abusing the creature by treating him as an enemy, Elisa decides to break him out. Even though the plot seems to be of a strange fantasy genre, the sympathetic and mysterious bond between the two characters makes this film a fairytale that will definitely strike the chords of your heart.
Abohomaan
Director Rituparno Ghosh worked with the repressed nuances of love intertwined with the grey areas of human morality in his Bangla classic Abohoman. Aniket Majumdar (Deepankar De) is a renowned director. He develops a special bond with an actress, Shikha (Ananya Chatterjee). This makes his wife (Mamata Shankar) and his son (Jisshu Sengupta) suspect that they are having an affair.
This movie is often speculated to be inspired from Satyajit Ray’s relationship with Madhabi Mukherjee. One of Rituparno’s finest creations, this movie takes the viewing experience to a sublime level.
Charulata
Based on the famous story Nashtaneer by Rabindranth Tagore, Satyajit Ray’s Charulata is a love story unlike others. Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee) is a lonely housewife. While her husband, Bhupati’s (Shailen Mukherjee) cousin, Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee), comes to live with them, because of their common love of literature and music, they instantly become friends. From their behaviour and conversation, soon it is quite evident that they are not merely friends, rather they have a deeper relationship.
With outstanding direction and acting performances, this masterpiece is a must watch for not just Valentine’s Day, but any time of the year.
Titli
Another Rituparno finest, this movie introspects love through the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship. 17-year-old Titli (Konkona Sen Sharma) comes to know that before marrying her father, her mother Urmila (Aparna Sen) had an affair with movie star Rohit Roy (Mithun Chakraborty), on whom she had a teenage crush. The movie tells us suppressed love could live inside people for years. Besides, the plight of emotions in Titli’s teenage mind and the portrayal of her love-hate-love relationship with her mother makes the film one of the greatest Bengali movies ever made.
Like most movies by Rituparno Ghosh, Titli also deals with suppressed human emotions, which if openly discussed, could be deemed socially unacceptable.
Always (오직 그대만 /Ojik geudae man)
Inspired by the 1931 Charlie Chaplin silent film City Lights, Always is a Korean film that shows us a love story between a former boxer named Jang Cheol-min (played by So Ji-sub) and a blind female telemarketer named Ha Jung-hwa (played by Han Hyo-joo). The conflict of the film is that the male character has a dark past, while the female character has a health condition. However, their story line never gets too sappy or cringey. Instead, Always offers a low-key yet heartfelt and poignant look into the sacrifices people make to keep their love alive.
Tasnia is a proud Slytherin who loves binging on poetry and graphic novels in her free time.
Tanzina Tabassum Nova is a full-time couch-potato, and a part-time reader, writer, translator, and reciter.