Romance Playlist 1

Akira's Hip Hop Shop.

This is a short film about a Japanese Dj and

record store owner who falls in love with a

black culinary student. They bond over their

love of music and japanese culture. Director

Joe Doughrity has produced a little gem.

My only qualm is that it should be a feature

lenght film.

Medicine For Melancholy.
Barry Jenkins's assured indie debut about two African Americans post their
one night stand and their awkward attempts at an emotional connection
is sensual and engrossing. It's also about San Fransisco, gentrification
and the spaces people inhabit. Barry Jenkins is a director I'll be following. I
also like his short film Tall Enough. I'll foreever love Wyatt Cenac for his
role in this film. Another one on the husband's list.



The Piano.
In the 1850s a mute woman travels to New Zealand with her young daughter
and beloved piano for an arranged marriage. Unhappy in her marriage, she
soon falls into a heady relationship with a local plantation worker. Directed by
Jane Campion, this film is mesmeric. It's like a series of moods that engulf
you. Holly Hunter is astonishing in this, it also stars Harvey Keitel and
a young Anna Paquin.


Read My Lips.
I absolutely love this unorthodox french film by Jaques Audiard.
Starring the dynamic Vincent Cassell and Emannuelle Devos. It centers on
a nearly deaf secretary whose colleagues treat her badly. When ex con
Cassell comes into her life, her lip reading skills become very useful as the
pair become embroiled in tricky, life threating situations.


Boys Dont Cry.
Indie favourte Chloe Sevigny and of course Hilary Swank star in this
heartbreaking true story about a transgender man who falls in love with
a young woman,ultimately leading to tragic circumstances.



The Secretary.
I do like Maggie Gyllenhaal I tell you. She's interesting. The movie
is about a socially awkward woman who forms a submissve/dominant
relationship with her new boss.





Dirty Pretty Things.
What a gorgeous pair Chiwetel Ejiofor and Audrey Tatou
make. Stephen Frears's brilliant movie about illegal
immigrants and the underbelly of London is potent and strange.




Amelie.
The enchanting Miss Tatou beguiles in this magically woven
tapestry of a film.




Chocolat.
The divine Juliette Binoche and gorgeous, ever kooky Johnny
Depp mightily pretty and talented in equal measure. What's not
to love? A sexy chocolatier breezes into a small town and shakes
up its residents.



L'appartment.
Vincent Cassell and his real life exquisite wife Monica Bellucci
star in thi s stylish, sexy thriller.



The Big Sleep.
Can any couple top Bogart and Bacall for onscreen magic?
I don't think so. Superb romantic film noir. Murder, blackmail and
love. Lauren Bacall, what a woman.

I think Edward Norton is one of the finest actors around. This underrated

gem about a mysterious, delusional outsider in the San Fernando Valley

who falls in love with a rebellious young woman is complex and achingly

sad. It's also beautifully shot.

Out of Sight. George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez sizzle in this Elmore Leonard screen adaptation as bank robber and cop who fall in lust and love. Sublime onscren chemistry.