Romance films, just like romance itself, aren’t always sweet. However, the doomed relations always make greater love stories. So even the two lovers don’t live happily ever-after in those tragic films, does it really matter? Grab yourself a box of tissue when you are ready to watch the 10 sad romance films listed below, they will break your heart.
10. The Barber of Siberia
Taking place in late 19th century, the story talks about the story of Jane, a young American Jane, who travels to Russia to meet her father.During her stay in Russia, Jane acquaints with Tolstoy, a military cadet named Andrey several years her junior. The vivacious young soldier wins her heart with his humor and vitality. After their long separation, Jane manages to find Tolstoy who has been banished to Siberia. Geographical distance never separates those madly and truly in love.
9. The Great Gatsby
Based upon Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, the film filters through the consciousness of Nick, a Yale graduate living on Long Island, who is fascinated by the extravagant lifestyle of Gatsby, his neighbor. He becomes a devoted listener of Gatsby’s history and finds out that Gatsby’s misery is due to Daisy, who once loved him but despised his poverty. Gatsby,now a millionaire, despite his colossal wealth, becomes a witness of his own tragedy. The plot also reveals a sharp contrast between the glitter of the Jazz Age and the moral emptiness beneath.
8. Legends of the Fall
As an epic of romance,brotherhood, devotion and betrayal, the movie convincingly illustrates the changes taken place in a family under profound historical background. Three sons, reared by a tough father,have developed an unbreakable bond until the arrival of a woman. The beautiful fiancée of the youngest brother soon becomes the fuse that ignites conflicts among the three. World War I, the Prohibition Act and alcohol smuggling are also perfectly interwoven in the storyline.
7. Cold Mountain
Set during the American civil war, a wounded soldier braves all imaginable difficulties on his perilous odyssey to come back home to his sweetheart, whose life has changed radically since the death of her father. Their romantic magnetism enable both to earnestly await their possible reunion. Terror, hope, fidelity, redemption and persistence compose the movie. Love will always prevail and pull together long-parted lovers against all odds.
6. The Bridges of Madison County
Adapted from Robert James Waller’s blockbuster novella, the movie tells about the unusual extramarital fling of a woman. Francesca, a middle-aged farmwife who devotes her life to rearing two children and looking after family, has her senses reawakened by Robert. The transient time they spend together draws them into an a passionate affair. The unquenchable flame of love, however, is finally extinguished by Francesca’s sanity. Many women wipe their tears throughout the film, empathizing with Francesca’s yearning for both a lover and a husband.
5. Bitter Moon
A bleak movie on sexuality, seven-year itch, desire and revenge, represents Roman Polanski’s expertise. Nigel and Fiona, who attempt to rejuvenate their withering marriage life by taking a cruise to India, accidentally meet Oscar, who repeatedly reveals his twisted and terrifying relationship with Mimi. Haunted by the story, Nigel and Fiona start to form a different outlook towards their own relationship. The movie qualify as a romance film, a thriller and a psychological puzzle.
4. Doctor Zhivago
The Russian epic tells the life of Doctor Zhivago, a surgeon during the Russian Revolution. Married to a girl who madly adores him, he falls in love with another woman who shares the same ideology and aesthetic with him. The vacillation between family responsibility and inextinguishable passion constantly tortures him. Men will feel sympathetic for Zhivago as women for Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County.
3. In the Mood for Love
The film is considered as Wong Karwai’s trademark. It discusses the delicate relationship between, Chow Mo-Wan and Su Li-zhen. They fall for each other but remain physically loyal to their own spouses. The unconsummated romance leaves regret in the heart of almost every viewer. The lush interior decoration, the lazy Bossa Nova music, the erotic compositions are highly commendable.
2. Edward Scissorhands
Tim Burton’s narration is always associated with fantasy, alienation, isolation and loneliness. Edward, living in a Gothic castle, knows nothing about the sophistication of human life or the ecstasy of falling in love. Urged by an Avon sales lady, he steps into human society and becomes passionately in love with Peg. His purity and innocence, however, win him more foes than friends. People laugh at him, take unfair advantage of him and trap him. When dedication and kindness are rewarded with estrangement and intolerance, the world becomes such a sadly unfit place for true lovers. Beautiful soundtracks and amazing scenario are also highlights of the film.
1. The English Patient
A victim that has been burned beyond recognition, known as the English patient, is cared by Hana in army hospital. Besides morphine, Hana’s reading becomes consolation of his infliction. The English patient gradually unveils his heart-wrenching history to Hana. Through flashbacks, we witness every detail of the victim, who is both intellectually and physically attracted by a married woman and later suffers from the unspeakable pain of losing her. The movie, replete with vibrant and moving plots, echoes with viewers’ innermost feelings.
What’s the saddest romance film have you seen?