I've always thought it would be tough.
Love is such a complex emotion, and there are so many aspects of love to be explored. Love is inexplicable as it is in real life, and it seems like an inhumane challenge to convincingly tell a love story within two hours of screen time.
I don't deny that I am a sucker for romantic comedies, but more often than not, I watch it not expecting a realistic potrayal of love. Instead, I willingly hand over my money anticipating the unrealistic situations and scenarios that ironically make us females go weak in the knees. I turn to mush, despite the often present loopholes in the plot - like is it really possible to fall completely in love with someone you've never met? And I've never thought it possible that one could chart the growth of love and the development of a relationship within a movie.
I've never felt particularly compelled to watch classics like Gone with the Wind or Breakfast at Tiffany's either, so I can't comment on how true reviews that read "the best love story of all time" are. Neither can I give a convincing argument that the portrayal of love in movies has been frivolised over the years.
What I can tell you however was how The Notebook blew me away.
picture from www.impawards.com
I've heard from friends about how good the movie was, but I never got around to catching it on the big screen. Truth be told, I was pretty skeptical for I live among people who deem Batman Begins as mindblowing. No offence to fans, but I just don't share your sentiments.
I finally got around to renting the dvd last Friday, and I forgot about it actually until I remembered that I had to return it tomorrow. And so, with my aunt, I settled onto the couch, all prepared for a mediocre tale like the last remake of Nicholas Sparks' novel A Walk to Remember.
I sure got way more than what I had bargained for.
In The Notebook, love was not something that involved kissing frogs, dying in war or escaping sinking ships. There were neither cheesy lines nor extravagant gestures; love was shown as how love is. The plot was neither surprising nor particularly different from many romance films out there, yet the simplicity made it all the more compelling. More than anything else, this movie had what many romantic flops lacked - truth.
I had a hard time holding back my tears but I didn't want to cry in front of my aunt; but the floodgates opened the moment the show ended.
It was a tale that wrenched my heart a couple of times, made it ache, made it sing... and made it believe. And I think that's what a great love story is about.
I finally got around to renting the dvd last Friday, and I forgot about it actually until I remembered that I had to return it tomorrow. And so, with my aunt, I settled onto the couch, all prepared for a mediocre tale like the last remake of Nicholas Sparks' novel A Walk to Remember.
I sure got way more than what I had bargained for.
In The Notebook, love was not something that involved kissing frogs, dying in war or escaping sinking ships. There were neither cheesy lines nor extravagant gestures; love was shown as how love is. The plot was neither surprising nor particularly different from many romance films out there, yet the simplicity made it all the more compelling. More than anything else, this movie had what many romantic flops lacked - truth.
I had a hard time holding back my tears but I didn't want to cry in front of my aunt; but the floodgates opened the moment the show ended.
It was a tale that wrenched my heart a couple of times, made it ache, made it sing... and made it believe. And I think that's what a great love story is about.
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