This Valentine’s Day, UCLA Radio’s Digital Press team asked ourselves: What film comes to mind when we think “Valentine’s Day”? Whether you’re in the mood for love or sick at the thought of it — we’re lucky that our emotions have been cinematically captured for us to bask in. Ranging from heartwarming to heart-wrenching, we have a film for you.
Blue Valentine (2010) by Ava Bozic
I’m not sure what it says about me that my first thought when picking a romantic film for Valentine’s Day was Derek Cianfrance’s 2010 film: Blue Valentine. It either says I am completely and unabashedly a hater of all things romantic love, or that my creativity could only go as far as a movie with “Valentine” in the title. For those unfamiliar, Blue Valentine stars Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), who are married and, quite frankly, despise each other. Of course, that isn’t entirely true, but the amalgamation of their toxic habits, difficult living conditions, and lack of love became a deeply dysfunctional and empty relationship. Transparently, I watched this for the first time after coming across a random film account on Instagram showing a cute romantic scene from the couple’s first meeting. I was in the mood for a light-hearted — looking back light-hearted is hilarious — movie about love, and the reviews were great, so I turned it on right away. Ryan Gosling, having been in quite a few romantic comedies, confirmed my previous assumptions, and I pressed play, blissfully ignorant. To my surprise, I watched a movie so painfully difficult to sit through that it felt like a horror film. The deeply uncomfortable, complex, and outright depressing reality of this couple will send you into a spiral, fearing both the future of love and married life. All this to say, if you’re in the mood to be a hater on Valentine’s Day, there is a movie for you! It’s important to note that this film is genuinely good; it’s so well done in fact that it feels too real. If you want to feel relieved that you are not in somebody else’s shoes on this day of romance, watch this film.
When Harry Met Sally (1989) by Amanda Romankiw
Growing up, my mom would always tell me stories about her time working in Hollywood. I distinctly remember her talking about how she attended the premiere for When Harry Met Sally. I had not watched the film until this winter break, when I rekindled with a guy I had gone on a date with three years ago — it seemed fitting.
The story follows an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers pipeline that left me questioning whether I found Harry, played by Billy Crystal, hot or not. His relationship with Sally, played by Meg Ryan, is centered around chance and serendipity. When Harry Met Sally set up the blueprint for modern situationships and allows the “right person, wrong time” trope to fuel our hopes — and our delusions.
That being said, this film is undoubtedly my favorite romantic film fit for any occasion. Whether you are cozied up during the holidays or trying to send signals to your low-commitment fling, When Harry Met Sally will leave you with tears brimming your eyes and your stomach sore from laughing. Set in Manhattan in the 80s, When Harry Met Sally truly transports you into a time when dating wasn’t ruled by the digital age.
Even now, my mom continues to add more details to her story of the premiere. Following the passing of Rob Reiner and his wife, she mentioned that Reiner had given a speech about how Harry and Sally were not supposed to end up together. However, when he met his wife on the set of the film, he rewrote the ending to the one we all know and love.
If you are looking to delve into a cult classic that captures a timeless romance, then grab your nearest situationship and turn on When Harry Met Sally. While basking in this film’s glory, play these songs to accompany you:
“It Had to Be You (Big Band and Vocals),” by Harry Connick Jr.
“Love Takes Miles,” by Cameron Winter
“Heaven Can Wait,” by Judie Tzuke
“Harvest Moon,” by Neil Young
“I Found a Reason,” The Velvet Underground
Past Lives (2023) by Kiara Mack
There are so many films I could credit for making me fall in love with film as an art form, but there are far fewer that I could definitely say changed my outlook on the world and romance and Past Lives is one of them. Written and directed by Celine Song, the film follows the relationship between Korean immigrant Nora and her childhood best friend Hae Sung. The two drift apart with distance and time, but reunite in-person twenty-four years later when he finally makes his way to New York. Now Nora is married, Hae Sung just got out of a relationship, and the two walk around the city together trying to make sense of who they were to each other, who they are to each other, and who they may be to each other in their past and next lives.
The film is inspired by the Korean concept of In-Yun, the idea that every interaction we have with each other is fate bringing us one step closer to sharing a life together. Essentially, the stranger you exchanged smiles with the other day and will never see again in this life very well might return in your next. It really doesn’t get more hopeful than that. Even the smallest of interactions is a glimpse into our futures, and we can find comfort in knowing that everything will work out when it’s meant to. It’s such a romantic, life-affirming perspective to have on love, and Song presents it here beautifully. Past Lives is the perfect film to watch this Valentine’s Day if you’re feeling lonely enough to go looking for a good cry over your one that got away.
Love, Actually (2003) by Sofie Foster
Though traditionally known as a Christmas movie, Love, Actually, is one of the most classic rom-coms out there. I may have some personal bias, as it is one of my favorites, but I find it to be a perfect pick for Valentine’s Day. The film’s overlapping plotlines, talented cast (Keira Knightley, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson — the list goes on), and, of course, clever music selections make it undeniably one of the best. Love, Actually opens and closes at London Heathrow Airport, with couples, families, and friends happily greeting each other or saying their goodbyes before parting ways. Kicking off with a well-known speech from Hugh Grant, the opening montage concludes with the iconic line: “If you look for it, I have a sneaky feeling you will find love actually is all around.” What I love about the film is that I find myself obsessing over a different sideplot each time, despite having seen it at least annually for the past four years. The movie’s heartwarming ending scene is set to the timeless “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys, as the multitude of mini-stories come to one final intersection. While it may not be Christmas, it’s still winter, so watch Love, Actually while you still can, during a holiday it’s still fit for.
Pride and Prejudice (2005) by Olivia Aerin
It was New Year’s Eve of 2020. It wasn’t late, yet, but the lights were off in my house; there were no New Year’s celebrations to host or attend. I was fifteen, laying in bed in a silent room in a dark house, and the dreariness mixing with some inexplicable sense of longing was a physical pressure in my chest. I decided to fill the few hours ‘til midnight by watching a movie.
My love of literature has influenced a great deal of my life, including my taste in movies. Most of my favorite movies are book adaptations, but I somehow managed to go fifteen years without watching Joe Wright’s iconic adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. I knew from the opening scene — the sun and the sounds of birds chirping against that lilting, diaphanous music — that this was going to be a top three movie for me. I lost sense of my own physicality and existed only in the gorgeous blues and greens of the English countryside. I was ensorcelled by that painfully awkward, awkwardly tall man trying to convey his affection in the most endearing, trainwreck of a fumble, the likes of which we haven’t seen since. Lizzy rejected him, saying to his face that he was “the last man in the world [she] could ever be prevailed upon to marry” and Darcy continued to follow her like a lovestruck puppy (my dream date, cute). Like any self-respecting romantic, there is nary a thing I love more than a male main character who is SO desperately, pathetically in love, and let me tell you, Fitzwilliam Darcy and his Handflex™ could go band for band with anyone. You know what they say, a yearner is an earner, and we were all winners watching that dawn-lit love confession (you have bewitched me). Lizzy found an equal in Darcy, and yes, everyone loves a good bit of yearning, but I like that the tension between them is unconventionally built. They recognized parts of themselves in each other, challenged and bettered each other, and came to respect one another. They were better people for knowing each other, even though that growth came with rough patches (Austen as the mother of enemies-to-lovers, let’s talk about it).
It was the ending scene of the U.S. version (yes there are two endings) that truly altered me, though. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you deserve to experience it with no spoilers, so I won’t say what happened. It’s understated and tender and piercing — almost poignant in the depth and weight of its emotion. For a couple of hours this movie transported me into a story about love — love between sisters, between parents and children, between friends, and of course, between lovers — wrapped in some of the most breathtaking cinematography I have ever seen. It is storytelling at its finest. I was reminded that there is an abundance of heart, joy, community, and connection in the world that endures throughout history; even a pandemic can not stuff it out. Love is at once deeply personal and yet timeless, splendorous and yet accessible; Pride and Prejudice reminds us that love can and does happen in the everyday. And if you aren’t looking for romantic love this Valentine’s day, that’s totally okay too — I leave you all with one of the best lines ever written: “What are men to rocks and mountains?” What indeed, there is love to be found everywhere.
Moonstruck (1987) by Grace Bashawaty
There’s nothing quite like Moonstruck, which I realized within the first ten minutes of watching the film. Some interpretations of the 1987 rom-com have jokingly wondered: does the moon make Italians go crazy? I’m almost certain filmmaker Norman Jewison would say yes.
Unlike most romantic comedies of years past, Moonstruck is entirely comfortable in its ridiculousness and refuses to take itself seriously. The characters are loud, outrageous, and deeply passionate—about Italy, their partners, the moon, and, in some cases, all three. There’s a deep nostalgia embedded in the film that makes you feel as though you’re dancing inside the world of 1980s Italian-American New York.
The film boasts an impeccable setting and premise yet still manages to surprise with its casting of Nicolas Cage and his wooden hand, who somehow manages to make an absurd, farcical, melodramatic leading man that audiences can gush over. Adding to Cage’s odd charm is the always charismatic Cher, whose character is overrun by Catholic guilt and struggling with the superstitions surrounding marriage after her first husband’s death. From the moment we meet her, Cher commands the screen with her beautiful, voluminous jet-black hair and an Italian accent I could revel in all on its own.
The interplay between the whimsical nature of these two characters and the logic that predicates their chance meeting is both enrapturing and so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh throughout the film’s entire runtime. While the subplots aren’t always romantic (sorry to Olympia Dukakis), the sharply comical screenplay more than makes up for the occasional lack of romance.
All this to say: I think you should watch Moonstruck if you haven’t already. And if you still need convincing, here are some spoiler-free, but still very fun, lines from the film:
- “La bella luna! The moon brings the woman to the man. Capisci?”
- “Snap out of it!”
- “In time you’ll drop dead, and I’ll come to your funeral in a red dress!”
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) by Caroline Sanchez
If it didn’t work out the first time, would you try again the second time?
Joel Barish discovers that ex-girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski, has undergone a medical procedure to erase the memories of their failed relationship. In response, he decides to undergo the same procedure. During this process, he recounts the memories they shared and decides that he doesn’t actually want to forget her. He fights to keep at least one memory: Montauk.
Skipping over the significance of Montauk, Joel’s surreal, inner-mind journey, and the pair’s fateful re-meeting post memory loss — you really do need to watch it to understand all this — we arrive at The Truth: Joel and Clementine find out that they erased each other. They also find out that by the end of their relationship, they hated each other. Suddenly, the burgeoning romance between the two is stalled. Clementine claims that she cannot change herself; she will get bored of Joel again, and Joel will hate her again. They’ll both end up hurt. Joel smiles and responds, “Okay.” The end of the film cuts to a scene of them playing in the Montauk snow.
We don’t know if Joel and Clementine actually work out in the end. Maybe they do, or maybe they’re naive to think it could work when it didn’t before, wasting their time all over again. But they try again regardless. I think it’s the most romantic thing you could do.
No, I wouldn’t say that Eternal Sunshine is a romantic movie in the traditional sense. However, if you want to see a dysfunctionally honest depiction of a relationship, I recommend it. It does take place on Valentine’s Day, 2004, after all.
