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While local rep theaters are out of commission, we'll be putting together weekly watchlists of films readily available to stream. For Valentine's Day, we're celebrating the bliss and agony of love and romance…but mostly the agony. Unfortunately, that makes for the best art!
Blue Valentine (2010)
Years ago, Dean (Ryan Gosling) used to sing and play ukulele, while Cindy (Michelle Williams) happily danced in the street. Now, they're married, they have a daughter, and they're drunk in a motel room screaming at each other. This melancholy character study probes a relationship on the rocks as the couple reminisce about how resilient their love used to be. Amazon Prime, Google Play, HBO Max, IMDb TV, iTunes, Pluto TV, Tubi, Vudu, YouTube.
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
In this essential arthouse romance by French New Wave auteur Alain Resnais and novelist-screenwriter Marguerite Duras, a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) engage in a steamy affair while she's in Hiroshima shooting an anti-war film. Together, the pair reflect on their past traumas and the horror of forgetting. Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Ang Lee's should-be Best Picture Oscar winner stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, two cowboys who fall in love while spending the summer of 1963 rustling sheep in the Wyoming mountains. As the years go by, the pair continue to pine for each other despite their respective marriages: "I wish I knew how to quit you." Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
This frenzied jukebox musical melodrama from polarizing visionary Baz Luhrmann is set at the eponymous Parisian cabaret, where playwright Christian (Ewan McGregor) and beautiful courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman) begin a doomed romance. Twenty years after the film's release, "Elephant Love Medley" remains a certified bop. Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube.
Holiday (1938)
The inimitable Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn headline George Cukor's screwball rom-com about a cartwheeling free spirit (Grant) whose plans to take a long holiday are spoiled when he learns his fiancée's wealthy father expects him to work at his bank. Enjoy the only nontragic love story on this list! Amazon Prime, Criterion Channel. Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube.
