Love is all around us, right?

            Love is there. Here, it’s everywhere – and we can see it with our own eyes. Today is Saint Valentine’s Day, also known as commercial celebration of romance. All that to make it look, like we love each other a little more, little better on February 14^th. Love comes in all shapes and sizes, it’s not always romantic or pretty; it can be tragic and painful as well. But love is all around us, and we live to love. It’s the only way.

I am not a big fan of romantic comedies; I watch them though. What I am a fan of, are stories about love – so I made a list of my favorite movies. But before we dive in, though… Let me tell you a short story about love. Can you bear with me, Friend?

One last thing – I made a lovely Spotify playlist, perhaps you will enjoy it.

I wanted it to be you, I wanted it to be you so badly

            From young age we are told that love is beautiful, it’s sunshine and rainbows. That all little girls wait for Prince Charming and all little boys will soon find their lovely Princesses. And all of us wanted to believe that this is the case. We all learnt the lesson – some of us sooner, some later. Love is. And that what we should teach our children.

Of course, there are beautiful exceptions to the general rule of love, and I am here for them. Romance is thrilling, and if there is a Prince Charming waiting for you out there, or a devoted Princess – then good. But come on, Friend. We know better than to expect that kind of outcome. So, why love is constantly idealized by society? Why there is always pressure involved? “You are not getting any younger, girl. Maybe it’s time to get married, have kids?”

Sigh. What else can I do; how else should one respond to a claim like that? For a long time, I believed that my prince is out there. I just must be patient. So I was, waiting for love, love of my life to come, to appear in my life. I believed that I am the exception.

I can’t see anything I don’t like about you.

            Love blinds. And not only this romantic one, I would say that every love blinds. My affection for Star Wars is absolutely blinding, like the lights. My mum is head over heels for her grandson and my dad is absolutely in love with his new phone. Being blinded like that is dangerous, because we tend to idealize what we “see”. The flaws, the imperfections, the toxicity.

I like to say that my love for pop culture is not that dangerous, but let’s face the truth: it often is all what I can think about. On the other hand, I have some plans associated with it, so… It’s hard not to think about it. I’m trying not to be monothematic, though.

But when it comes to romantic love, overlooking the bad things is never good. Hell, it can be tragic and can destroy the strongest souls. It can turn the warmest hearts stone cold. So, why do we do that? Is it something we can control? I don’t think so… Otherwise, it would be too simple, no?

            But that’s good, we can always learn something new, even if it ends with a heartbreak. I learnt a lot from my last heartbreak. Would I do it all over again?

Yes. No questions asked.

I could die right now, Clem. I’m just… happy. I’ve never felt that before. I’m just exactly where I want to be.

            The bliss, the happiness of feeling that we are loved. I’m sure that having an equal partner by your side can give you biggest, most beautiful wings. But being loved by your family, by friends, by fans (haha, come on – let me have this one) is just as great. Believe me! For quite some time know, I am lucky to be around the most loving, supporting crew ever. Most wonderful friends, cheerleaders and just good people. I know you all love me. And I love you, guys. I really do.

I am happy, I feel loved, I feel truly happy. I can be whoever I want to be with them by my side – a writer, podcaster, geek, nerd, introvert, extravert, talker, listener, expert. Is there anything better? Life is pretty good. Sure, there are ups and downs, but I know that I am not alone.

I hope that you feel the same way about yourself. I know that this is hard – to love yourself first. But… How else can you love anybody? Tell me how? How can you be with anybody, if you don’t know how to be with yourself? If you can’t love yourself, if you don’t know how to – let someone show you. Let your friends in. Let someone in.

You want the moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.

            Love can and should be shared. This is one of the “whys” I started this blog – to share my undying love for films, Chris Nolan and Star Wars. And I hope that you understand my love. Loving something or someone is making sure we give 100%.

You know that I have Movie Club at work, right? Right. And I want to give all the members best content, best quality and service. With a heavy heart I had to take a break from podcasting – 2 long weeks. I had to get my work-shit together. And it felt… Just bad. But I don’t want to deliver on 60-70%. I aim for a 100+, always!

This is the thing with love. It’s always big, never small. You might think that it’s “no big deal”, that you love something just a little. Maybe it’s writing poems, or drawings. Or maybe it’s video games, comic books, maybe cooking. It’s never “just a little”. Give it all you’ve got and I promise you – it will be absolutely worth it.

You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.

            One of my favorites movies in the whole world is We bought a zoo – not only because Matt Damon is in it. This film shows all kinds of love – romance, complicated family, love for animals. The story itself – of a family buying a zoo – is simply beautiful. With love, one must be courageous, my Friend. There is no other way.

If you will be brave, two things can happen: you wither get exactly what you want or you will learn a valuable lesson. And you will be honest – with yourself, with the other side. Thing might not work out along the way, but… This is life, right? And life always finds a way.

Hey, don’t give me that look, okay? I know it’s all easy to give such advices, I know that. I probably wouldn’t listen to myself 100%, maybe for like 89%. I’m working on it, though. To be more persistent, more forward, more… Brave.

            Love is worth it; I can promise you that. Taking the risk is worth it. It will hurt, it will give you most beautiful high, it will break your heart and finally… You will truly find the one. Not a prince, not a princess. The One. For you, and that is all. All, that really matters. After all, “it doesn’t matter if the guy is perfect or the girl is perfect, as long as they are perfect for each other”.

For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

            There are a lot of films that are about love, but I chose my favorites. Some of them were mentioned before, some are new… I aimed for the not obvious ones, because it’s more fun. And this time no Star Wars. WHAT?!

But I do hope you will enjoy this list. Are you ready? Oh, order is completely random.

#1 Malcolm & Marie

            Hands down, one of the most real stories about love, relationships and human interactions ever. Breathtaking Zendaya with just as good John David Washington. It was way too real for me.

You can read the review here.

#2 The Lord of the Rings

            Change my mind, I dare you. Aragorn and Arwen – the romance; hobbits – the brotherhood; Boromir – the sacrifice; Eowyn – the tragic one. So many types, kinds of love! And guess what? Yours truly celebrated Valentines Day in the best possible way: watching the extended trilogy with her friend.

Not a love story. Story about love so strong, so unconditional, so pure… Makes ma want to re-read the books all over again. And it is a great idea for future TPC post, right?

#3 Rain Man

            I should think about my life, if I chose to put film with TOM CRUISE on any list, whatsoever. You turned me into a monster. But this film was really good – love between two brothers. Having an older brother myself, I know that for him? There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.

Rain Man shows that there is nothing more important, than family. Especially the sibling that… Sometimes is all we have left.

This made me think of Onward. Care to read about it?

#4 Titanic

            Of course. I am not a heartless one, okay? This is the greatest love story EVER (I have spoken) and you will not prove me otherwise. Jack and Rose were never meant to be and at the same time, they were always meant to be.

He had nothing to lose and yet, he lost everything. She was empty and unhappy and yet, she was the happiest girl in the whole world.

This had to end badly.

#5 Life is beautiful

            Oh goodness, this film shook my soul to the ground – and I watched it as a kid, a young girl. My mum had to explain some things to me and the more we watched, the more I cried. Only parents, only your parents can turn hell into something so… Calm and beautiful.

I am scared to watch it again. I don’t think I am strong enough.

#6 About time

            This one was so unexpected for me, so unconventional! And so damn clever, so humble and when you think about it – so simple. The transition from being a part of your family, to having one of your own. The struggle, the doubt, the uncertainty.

Sometimes you have to lose something, in order to gain something new.

#7 Interstellar

            No SW but plenty of Nolan, am I right? Admit it, though. You hear Anne Hathaway say “Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends time and space.” Physics issues aside, father-daughter love is core of this film.

It’s complicated but you can read my thoughts on it here.

And DAMN me, that amazing soundtrack.

#8 Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

            Perhaps the greatest story about love ever made into motion picture. It shows the good, the bad and the ugly. It shows the acceptance of imperfections, the urge to destroy, the self-destruction that can kill it all.

It shows the extreme measures we are willing to take, to make it work. Brilliant Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey.

How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d

#9 Cinema Paradiso

            Why oh why, did I watch it JUST RECENTLY? This is movie about me – about my love for cinema. My love for films, for all things cinema. Sure, there is a romance involved. Sure, it shows something we lose when we grow up. But with the right person to show us something (my mum) and never forgetting about this love of ours… Is one of the best things ever in life.

I will write down my thoughts about this film soon, but give me some time to settle.

#10 Jojo Rabbit

            If you want to know what love is, don’t ask The Foreigner. Ask kids. They will tell you, without prejudice, without agenda. Kids are brutally honest and this is something we lose with age. But yes, Jojo Rabbit is wonderful tale about love and all its shades.

I wrote a review of this one, while back. Give it a read!

No feeling is final – and that includes feeling love. It’s never final.

I miss his voice. I miss his voice telling me he loves me.

            Don’t. Don’t ever hesitate, when it comes to love. Listen to your heart, listen closely. There is no way you will be able to control it – not with romance. You can win, you can lose but whatever you do – try not to be scared.

Love is worth it. And so are you!