Love Nightmares

I think this goes up after Valentines but I want to talk about my favorite love stories in film.

SPOILER WARNING FOR ALL FILMS MENTIONED PLEASE BE AWARE

Lawrence and Ali from Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Love is a messy concept, and one that often ends poorly. Those poor endings are quite dear to me, from falling in love with the most Orientalist guy in the world to getting Kafka'd in the bed of your gay awakening, my favorite on screen love stories can also be considered 'Love Nightmares'. Without further yammering, here are some of my favorite love nightmares (plus one normal lovestory)

A very dear film to me is Lawrence of Arabia, the story of a British officer who ends up leading a revolt against the Ottomans. It is also a gay love story between the titular Lawrence and Sherif Ali. Ali, whose first meeting with Lawrence is him killing Lawrence's guide and leaving him stranded. Lawrence, who tirades about the cruelty of "his people" and wins tentative favor of Prince Faisal as begins to lead a conquest against Aqaba, and takes both the city and Ali's heart. Ali's love is key in Lawrence's second act downfall, as he delivers the line;

"If I who loves him, fear him. Then how must he fear himself, who hates himself."

Lawrence searches for Ali in the faces of those he passes as he leaves the desert, and he doesn't find him. They are perfectly doomed by the narrative (Lawrence's death, as shown by the opening scene) and by Lawrence's hubris (his desire to "Deliver Arabia to the Arabs" as if he is not in service of the British crown and lying to those he claims to be allied with.)

Though the film is based on the real life figure of T.E. Lawrence, the character of Ali is pseudo-historical, an amalgamation of characters mentioned in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence's account of his experiences, though it's debated how much of the truth he tells in it.

Another one about a British soldier named Lawrence, Merry Christmas Mr, Lawrence is a Japanese film set during WWII about the inhabitants of a Japanese Prisoner of War camp. The pair in this one is David Bowie as Jack Celliers and Ryuichi Sakamoto's as Captain Yonoi. They come together as enemies, the slightly eccentric Celliers is a foil to the almost-stoic Yonoi, who's only crack is forced open by Celliers time and time again after Yonoi saved him from execution out of pure curiosity. Their homoerotic dynamic is fueled by obsession on Yonoi's part and the need to survive on Celliers'. Their tale ends in death, unfortunately but not unexpectedly. Accompanied by a haunting score from Sakamoto, which is to me on the level of the Twin Peaks score many ways of evoking emotion.

This one is a bit untraditional but 2006's The Fall has a strange and complex romance subplot that is quite dear to me. The film has two layers of story, the story to us, the audience, and the story being told to the characters. This second story holds the tale of the Bandit and Evelyn, who's love is a stand-in for Roy and the woman he loves who betray him. I mostly care about this one because it absolutely destroyed Roy and is the driving force of the film's action. The slow decent of Roy because of this betrayal is astounding to watch in the blend of fact and fiction, love and hate. They all melt together in a very beautiful way. One of my favorite films ever, I highly recommend.

The aforementioned 'Kafka'd in the bed of your gay awakening' comes from Gregg Araki's Nowhere. There are many romances in Nowhere but none of them stuck with me to the extent of Dark and Montgomery. Their slow building tension over the course of the film seems to come to a deadend when Montgomery is abducted by aliens during a game. But the final scene of the film, Dark laments his nihilistic depression down the barrel of the camera, wearing Montgomery's necklace. There is a tap on the window, and Montgomery reappears, having been absent for a greater part of the film. They exchange love confessions in a tender dialogue, and then Montgomery explodes into a beetle, and the film runs out on Dark's blood covered face. It is gut-wrenchingly beautiful to me, and also harrowing.

My final recommendation is a happy ending, Saving Face is practically my favorite Rom-Com (except maybe Om Shanti Om) about a Chinese lesbian, Wil trying to balance a relationship with her mother who has seemingly miraculously fallen pregnant and has been ousted by her father (Wil's Grandfather) and now lives with her. It's a fun film about the New York City Chinese community and love and trying to make things work when it seems that the universe wants the opposite. About adapting to new lifestyles that you now share with others. Sure Wil and Vivian have a lot of ups and downs over the course of the film but that's what makes it beautiful! They are imperfectly perfect and despite life pulling them in opposite directions they find a way to come together in the end. I shed a tear every time I watch it