(500) Days of Summer which has received much critical acclaim since it's release at Sundance earlier this year, finally got release in St. Louis this weekend. Kurt and I went and saw and were much amused by this film that is not a love story, but a story about love. In this day and age where most movies are sterilized and idealized stories about 2 people falling madly in love against all reason, it's a nice change to see a movie which shows all the ups and downs and foibles of a real relationship that doesn't end well.
Before seeing the movie and afterward I thought of other indie movies of the past ten years that also have different views of love and life.
1) Garden State (2004)
Zach Braff's directorial debut which is mostly just a collection of stories and urban legends he heard growing up; but there is also the love story of two people adrift in the world. It's a contrived romance and very predictable, but it's still heart-warming and the various stories are entertaining, if nothing else.
2) Juno (2007)
Second movie from Jason Reitman and is quite charming. A story of pregnant teenager who falls in love with the father of her child through the course of the pregnancy. Some have said that it tries to be too Indie and is contrived; I find it witty and endearing as she discovers that life does not always work the way you expect it to.
3) Brick (2005)
The first from Rian Johnson and one I love to be able to include in a list because it's such a good movie. One could argue that it's not a movie about love, but at it's heart it is. Brendan loves Em and wants to know what happened to her and why; through the unfolding we find out that Em is not love with Brendan but in love with.... well, I won't ruin the surprise. But it's the relationships of who is involved with whom that is a major part of this noir detective story.
But for now, "Just because she's likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate." ((500) Days of Summer)
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