Love Stories: These five films deliver

By: Cala Villavicencio

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Who doesn’t enjoy the Beatles? This movie is a timeless musical of a man named Jude who travels to New York in search of his father who wasn’t ever in the picture. While he is there, he is welcomed by a lad of the same age named Maxwell, who takes him in as his friend, and the two become very close. Along the way, Jude meets Max’s younger sister, Lucy, with whom he is infatuated, and the two are undeniably in love. The movie shows how most of the Beatles songs are incorporated, whether that is from songs sung in the film itself or the names of characters from songs in their discography. Apart from that, the entire cast has such a great talent for singing. The directing in this film is artistically beautiful, symbolizing events in American history, and the contrast of colors being shown is just breathtaking. Being a Beatles fan myself, this movie popped out to me, both artistically and musically.

JERSEY GIRL

A single father named Oliver working in NYC, coping with the loss of his wife during childbirth, buries himself in work and ignores his daughter, Gertie. His father decides to help him out until he is back on his feet. Then, he loses his job over trashing one of his clients and moves in with his father back in Jersey. Oliver realizes he needs to step up to the plate and be a better father to his only daughter. Seven years pass, and Gertie and her father spend a lot of time together, renting films to watch, which leads to Oliver meeting a psychology graduate student, Maya. This causes slight tension between Gertie and Oliver, being that a new mother figure is slowly being brought into her life.This film is a beautiful romcom of the bond between father and daughter but also shows the troubles of death in a family that most other films don’t.

SILVERLININGS PLAYBOOK:

While this movie received mixed reviews, others found its acting to be award-winning worthy. Bradley Cooper plays a mentally ill man who just gets released from rehab after a freak incident that occurred previously. His family and friends are a little unsettled once he returns home. While he is catching up on his old life, he meets a girl just like him (Jennifer Lawrence) who is interested in ballroom dancing and asks if he would like to join. The chemistry between these two and their similarities with their problems definitely earns their spot on this list because the flow of how each event happens is psychologically beautiful. That, and Bradley Cooper isn’t too bad to look at.

CAN’T BUY ME LOVE

Young Doctor Dreamy can’t always be terrible, right? This timeless classic is about a young nerdy boy who is stuck in a summer job mowing lawns to save up for a big telescope. While the love of his life since kindergarten needs help after ruining a very expensive dress, he decides to jump in and help her in exchange for popularity in their high school. At first, she is very hesitant about helping him, but then she reconsiders thinking that with his help she would be out of trouble with her mom. This film includes hilarious moments, as well with bittersweet feelings along the way. This film is a joyride of the ’80s, and is arguably a great classic.

AMELIE

Troubled with a heart condition since her childhood, Amelie is a young woman who grew up sheltered by her parents all of her life. The main goal in her life is for others to be happy, no matter what it takes. This movie is a very heartwarming tale of a woman who solely wants happiness in her world because she doesn’t know how much time she has left. While this film is in French, it’s visually beautiful with coloring, and the subtitle reading doesn’t get old.