Love in Films — Uniquely Aligned

Movies are very important to me and my friends. When we find stories that touch us, we hold onto them forever. I asked my friends which movies they connect with and these are there responses.

Illustration by Zuleika Mari @zooleykuh on Instagram and Twitter.

When I watched 'Call Me by Your Name' for the first time, I went in with the expectation of a love story. The film followed this expectation up until the ending and, when it reached its conclusion, I was floored to realize how wrong I had been. As you watch Elio cry, you realize you have just watched a truly incredible tale of heartbreak.

by: Michael Robert Delano @mrdshorts on Instagram and Twitter

Moonlight (2016)

Moonlight is made up of subtle moments, soft touches and lingering looks so packed with emotion that the immensity of a movie at such a small scale is overwhelming. Maybe the fragility of the story is what makes it so human; what makes Chiron's anger, his sadness and his longing so tangible that you can't help but wrap your arms around it. Moonlight is every bit as important as it is true because even if the contents of the film are fictional, there's nothing fake about the reality they represent, still present in the lives of millions of queer individuals every day. There's nothing subtle about existence, every touch and feeling is as immense as it is suffocating, and Moonlight encapsulates that like no other film has.

by: Lola Moreno @lol_a13 on Instagram

Love, Simon (2018)

"Love, Simon" is one of my favorite comfort films because... Simon has supportive parents who love him no matter his sexuality and I know I could never have that, so every time I watch it, it feels like a warm hug. It makes me feel like I will be able to exhale too someday.

by: Maria Mrowicka @wildwrlds on Instagram

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a film about being seen, like properly seen. It is a film devoid of a male gaze and only in this harmonious, peacefully maenadic world may we truly be ourselves. It is a film where men’s presence leads to painful abortions and to carrying away the portrait the women spent their relationship building. He carries the painting away, as though it’s an adequate articulation of a woman in all her complexity for the next person who will look at her, but will never really see the detail that went into making it so.

I saw it at a film festival, surrounded by hundreds of audience members- mostly women, mostly queer couples. And it somehow emulated the feeling that the film was creating, that in these moments when that misogynistically embedded narrative expectation is taken away, we are seen, and we can see ourselves on screen. Like, properly.

by: Brodie May Instagram: @adambrodyunofficial Twitter:@brodiemayo

The Handmaiden (2016)

"You can even curse at me or steal things from me. But please don't lie to me. Understand?"

Carol (2015)

"I don't know what I want. How could I know what I want if I say yes to everything?"