7 Movies to Mend a Broken Heart

By Sherrie Gulmahamad on November 19th, 2009

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Alright, alright, stop sobbing. Well, if you insist on continuing to weep over the man who got away, may I offer you this pint of Ben & Jerry’s excellent “Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream”? It goes good with incessant crying, I find.

But listen, you can find much inspiration to mend that broken heart of yours by way of movie therapy. You might argue, “but my case is different!” but as you should also know, there’s more than one way to approach the subject of LOVE in the movies. One of these flicks is bound to make you feel better, and depending on how you’re feeling currently, offer you maximum comfort. And that “Americone Dream” is pretty tasty too, am I right?

DISCLAIMER!: I already know every woman on the planet loves The Notebook and Moulin Rouge in terms of pure chick flick romantic movie drama, so I won’t bother mentioning them. You already love them. Get off my case. It’s like a broken record with you people.

Persuasion

(1995 – Masterpiece Theater version)

There’s Hope for Us Yet-

Did you cast him aside because your friends and family disapproved of him, causing him to slip through your sorry fingers? Then this particular adaptation of Persuasion might be up your alley. Persuasion, as simply put as possible, is the story of an overlooked woman who loved a man when he was poor, was convinced by everyone around her to give him up, only to have him reenter her life later, and, annoyingly, become the center of attention of lesser women while she pines away quietly. Like most Austen-based chick flicks, you will have to sit through everyone’s machinations to get to your big romantic moment of closure. I also love that the Anne in this adaptation is no over-the-top beauty, so her problems simply feel more real. Enjoy with: endless cups of tea and sympathy.

À bout de souffle / Breathless

(1960)

Ah! Maybe He Was No Good Anyway!-

I’m always surprised to bump into little hipster girls who haven’t seen this movie. It’s the quintessential “maybe he’s nothing but bad news anyhow” kind of flick, full
of winks and more winks to the American gangster genre and pure youthful rebellion. And what do you do when your chemistry is electric but…he’s kind of a mess? Hopefully the talents of Jean Luc Godard, a foxy Jean Paul Belmondo, and the gamine beauty Jean Seberg will help you feel better about your little conundrum.  Enjoy with: lots of cigarettes.

In The Mood for Love

It Wasn’t Meant to Be, But We Meant It While It Lasted-

How can you not have seen this movie by now? Is it simply a hatred of subtitles? Girl, you gotta get with the program. In this movie, Maggie Cheung is one of the most beautiful women ever committed to celluloid, and Tony Leung’s eyes can’t get any more romantic and sadder. Cheung and Leung star as married-to-other-people lovers, racked by guilt and propelled by unrequited love, who must keep their feelings completely locked up inside due to societal standards. Everything in this movie is pure poetry. It will get your mind off the pain, if just for a little while. Enjoy with: big bowls of comforting, steamy soup, preferably with noodles, just like the lovers enjoy in this movie.

Camille Claudel

He Used Me, That Bastard! But At Least I Still Have My Talent-

Chances are you know who Rodin is, but not his lover and fellow sculptor, Camille Claudel (played here by a ravishing Isabelle Adjani). Imaginative art historians have wondered about Claudel’s influence on Rodin, and vice versa — did he make her a better sculptor? Was she the one making those beautiful hands on all his statues? This movie follows Camille’s awakening as an artist, her troubled romance with the more famous Rodin, and her struggle to make her own art while gasping for air in his shadow. After you’re done watching this, hopefully, you will cast aside your tissues and pint of Colbert ice cream to get up and focus on your own talents and your own bad self. Screw him. It’s his loss. Enjoy with: big goblets of red wine and a slightly angry disposition.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Continuing On That Last Thought – Girl, You Are Better Off Without Him-

This, my sisters, is my ultimate comfort chick flick. It is stylish, campy, hilarious, and you will completely relate to Carmen Maura (Almodovar’s muse before Penelope Cruz — rhyme is accidental). Pepa, played by the unsinkable Maura, is being unceremoniously dumped by her rather callous lover who she can never locate on the phone and is about to leave town with his new chickadee. In between calling him constantly and lurking around outside his house, she finds the time to set a bed on fire, attempt poisoning people, and occasionally fling all manner of items out the window. Basically — all the crazy crap we wish we could do when we’re heartbroken yet never have the cojones to actually attempt (well, us more timid girls at least). This movie is chock-full of excellent witty female dialogue, and I maintain that Almodovar makes the best movies for women. You will feel inspired to pick yourself up off that couch and go out and get the world after watching Pepa’s trials and tribulations. Added bonus? A very, very young Antonio Banderas. Enjoy with: a lot of gazpacho, and a really good girlfriend.

A Room With a View

But, You Cynical Bitch! I *WANT* To Believe In Love Again-

Cliche time: sometimes love is going to find you when you least expect it, and often, when you least welcome it (hellooo, engaged to somebody else!) And if this is your kind of favorite romantic movie cliche, and it’s going to make you feel better right now, then this is the movie for you. You’ve got your petticoats, disapproving family members, free spirited (and cute!) English boys, and weirdly enough, a very uptight Daniel Day Lewis. The closing images of this film will stick with you a long time and probably make you want to book a flight to Firenze, right away. Enjoy with: pasta, and a man who reminds you of a young Julian Sands.

The Last of the Mohicans

Well, While We’re At It-

I can’t end this list with one of Daniel Day Lewis’ more prissy performances! We should leave it off with one of his most manly! And here is DDL at his most dashing. He will save you from marauding Natives, a loveless marriage to a Redcoat, from–well from just about anything. Just stay alive, no matter what occurs, he will find you! So you’ve lost your faith in the goodness and sincerity of men, maybe Daniel Day Lewis will restore it? Or you could just watch The Notebook, jeeze! Fine!  Gahd! Enjoy with: um, nothing makes this movie better than it is already. Sorry.