We made a beautiful bouquet - Movie review
What makes a really good romantic movie?
Yes, it is a generic question and there are many aspects but there is one which is undisputed. There are a lot of romantic movies our there - Netflix is now the new Hallmark (unpopular opinion of yours truly) with a lot of mushy mushy shows, there is classic romcom genre, there is teenage first-love romance trope, and there is the Bollywood style urban-rich trope with some parental issues etc. These are all one-time watchable but you do not care for them after watching. You do not remember their names or anything later, like episodes of Law and Order :)
In past, as part of Silver Linings Playbook review, I wrote that how romantic films have to go into niche spaces to make it truly work and stand out. Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind is just genius to the power of infinity, a movie which is my all time best yet I have never written about it because it is that great, yet it is a romantic movie at its core. Perhaps the best that ever will be :)
While romantic movies made with niche genres are really awesome, the traditional and classic romantic films are hugely enjoyable when done well. I am talking about You've got mail, Sleepless in Seattle kind. The familiarity of the structure, execution done well, good actors are needed but it is so rare to find. When was the last time you watched a traditional romantic movie and said - I love it. Think about it.
At-least for me it has been ages. This made me thinking - why most of these are forgotten the next day? aka what makes a good romantic film?
And I found my answer in We made a beautiful bouquet - a cute Japanese film (saw this part of Japanese film festival Bangalore, 2023) with a highly classic traditional romcom structure. And I loved it. Just adored it . And wondered, why are there no more movies like this one?
As I was thinking, the answer came to me - a really good romantic film is when the audience, that is me, feels that the two people should be together. It does not matter if they see it or not but I see it, I feel it . If a movie is able to convince you, makes you care for them, then it is a really good film. It could be because they share the same interests - same books, same authors, same shoes, they discover each other by luck and their chemistry lights up the screen. I as an audience member is rooting for them to be together. It then transforms into the sports movie where you are the underdog waiting for this relationship to happen against the conflict, whatever the film thinks of. A great romantic movie convinces you of this underdog feeling.
See the Before-* movies, absolutely convinced. We just can not fathom that they will not hook up after what we have seen.
Once - Two gentle souls, chance discover each other on the streets of Dublin, their mutual interest in music, their collaboration leads to an awesome album. You just want them to be together and do more. This, their being in the studio, her on piano, him on guitar, that is the happy space.
Most romantic films fail to do so. Take for example the insanely hit romantic film - Hum Aapke hain Koun and if I ask you - why do you think Madhuri and Salman's characters should be together? The movies has done zilch to make us root for them in terms of character development, other than just put the pieces in a way that we should care. Ditto goes for SRK/Kajol flick DDLJ - Yes, Simran is being forced into a bad relationship, anyone like Raj will be better but why should it be Raj only? Most Bolly films just tell you and then build things around it to fit this. It is for this reason, HAHK is totally unwatchable now as a movie, other than the pure nostalgia that it provides.
We made a beautiful bouquet is that classic romantic film that I have not seen in a long time but I would rewatch it anyday. Beautifully acted. The title has the ending written in it - 'made' is a past tense verb. So, along the whole film, I was rooting to prove the title wrong. Yet, it is inevitable. It is painful in a good way - leaves an ache in the heart. The conflict is also not contrived - it is everyday life, it is money/job - means to sustain, a job - not even a glamorous job but an average job. It is such a simple movie about everyday life that it transcends it.
And then there is a scene that just fills my heart with joy. (Spoilers ahead) At the climax, you know that they are there to break-up. The beautiful bouquet is now going to wilt. The girl sees it more clearly, women often do so. We have heard the boy speak so far and we know it is not working. It is the turn of the girl to share her side. You know what she opens with - it is a feeling that is there in almost all romantic movies which leads to a breakup but never uttered once. Not even in Before-* movies. It is so obvious. She says - Thank you! Five years in a relationship and she has gratitude for the good times. Mind blown.! You accept this movie also with the same feeling - gratitude. Thank you for showing such a nice romantic film even though it has this ending that you told us about. Plus the movie takes the breakup too maturely - not only they remain friends but they stay together for 3 months after breakup so that she can find an apartment. They do rock-paper-scissors for their cat. (Yes, there has to be a cat in every Japanese movie.)
It is my kind of movie. If there are other romantic movies, let them be like this one.
It is 4/5
2 comments:
This is so beautifully expressed, you can see them gradually parting ways, and the churn in your stomach to prevent that from happening. However, you watch their seating helplessly, letting it unfold right in front of your eyes.
This is so beautifully expressed, you can see them gradually parting ways, and the churn in your stomach to prevent that from happening. However, you watch their seating helplessly, letting it unfold right in front of your eyes.
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