Ophelia

WHEN LOVE JUST DOESN’T CONQUER ALL

It’s that time of year again…Valentine’s Day. A time of flowers, hearts and chocolates; a time to spend a romantic candle-lit dinner with our other half; when the troubles of the world seem to melt away as we gaze into one another’s eyes…and when all the corporates laugh at how they ripped us off for another consumer-driven holiday.

The truth is that love does not conquer illness, nor madness, nor anger, nor lust…and above all, it does not conquer death.

If you need any more affirmation, then look no further than the following (spoiler alert!):

Atonement (2007)
Jealousy and childish ignorance tear two lovers apart forever.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)
War, revolution, betrayal.

Hamlet (1996)
For the sake of vengeance Hamlet allows the woman he loves to believe he doesn’t love her, driving her to madness and suicide.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)
There are forces “darker than jealousy and stronger than love”.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Obsessive, unrequited and tragic love.

Revolutionary Road (2008)
Suburban wedded bliss really is just a pretty picture that we paint for our friends and neighbours. The truth that lurks inside is one of dark desperation.

Romeo and Juliet (1996)
“For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo”.

Sweeney Todd (2007)

Lust tears a happy family asunder and ruins a man’s life. Anger, jealousy and vengeance keep away any hope of happiness, reunion or peace.

West Side Story (1961)
Warring families. Culture clashes. Forbidden love.

Photo credit: Pictify

Originally published on Dinner and a Movie.

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