RIYADH: Love has been depicted in films in all its magnificent complexity — from timeless classics to modern interpretations of romance. Here we present eight Arabic and foreign films to enjoy this Valentine’s Day.
(Dale Robinette)
‘La La Land’ (2016)
Starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, this American romantic musical tells the story of an actress and a jazz pianist who fall in love as they both navigate Los Angeles in search of their dreams.
(Paramount)
‘How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days’ (2003)
This cult favorite is about an advertising executive (Matthew McConaughey) who makes a bet with his coworkers that he can make any girl fall in love with him in ten days. His path crosses with none other than Andie (Kate Hudson), a journalist who is writing an article on how to lose a man in ten days.
(IMDB)
‘Hedi’ (2016)
This Tunisian film depicts a man with high aspirations whose mother decides to choose a bride for him. Before his wedding he meets Rim, a woman who makes him realize there is a world beyond rigid social conventions.
(Getty Images)
‘Casablanca’ (1942)
This wartime romantic classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman is about an American expatriate who must decide whether or not to help his former lover and her husband, a Czech resistance leader, escape the Nazis.
(CBS via Getty Images)
‘Ghost’ (1990)
The highest-grossing film of 1990, “Ghost” is the story of a young man whose spirit stays behind after he is murdered by a gangster. His spirit embarks on a journey to enlist the help of a reluctant psychic to warn his girlfriend that she is in grave danger.
(Wahid Farid)
‘Nahr El-Hub’ (1960)
Starring Fatin Hamama and Omar Sharif, this Egyptian romantic drama is based on the 1877 Russian classic “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy. It is about a beautiful young woman who marries a powerful man to get her brother out of prison.
(Letter Boxd)
‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ (1959)
In this French film, a French actress moves to Hiroshima to make an anti-war film when she meets a Japanese architect. The film depicts them sharing their differing views on war and falling in love in the process.
(Diyah Pera)
‘The Age of Adaline’ (2015)
Starring Blake Lively, this romantic drama and fantasy follows a woman who has not aged a single day since an accident in 1937. Set in the present day, the film explores her complicated life and romantic encounters, complicated by her mysterious condition.