May-December romance is quite a thing in films.
The heart wants what the heart wants, right? No, this is not an explanation for couples with age gap. We admire the wonderful facets of adult relationships and some movies have captured the beauty of two people born in different generations falling in love with each other.
Yes, there are some relationships in films that are total cringe. Like Wild Things or Poison Ivy, or even Spacey-Suvari romance in American Beauty. Others simply shows the truth about loving someone who’s much older or younger. Here are a few movies that celebrate May-December romance quite well.
Lost in Translation
A bitter-sweet film about a middle-aged man meeting a much younger woman in Tokyo. Scarlett Johannson and Bill Murray portray a sweet yet melancholic love story that is beautifully platonic. Yet a part of us wants to know what Bob whispered to Charlotte’s at the end.
Nishabh
The Bollywood movie that created quite a stir with its whopping 45 years age difference between the two leads. Nishabh explores a 60-year-old veteran and his obsession with his daughter’s friend. Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jiah Khan, the cast gives a prolific performance.
Manhattan
This Woody Allen’s film explores the coming to terms of what the heart really wants. In short, it is a magnificent exploration of human absurdities. Issac, a newly divorced, leaves his high school girlfriend Tracy for a woman his age. However, Issac realises its Tracy he loves. Truly another masterpiece by Allen.
The Piano Teacher
An erotic psychological based drama that explores the relationship between Erika and her piano master Walter. The tumultuous relationship leaves Erika shattered and leaves her in an abyss. It’s devastating and you’re bound to think about it for days.
The Reader
Plain and simple: A young boy develops a physical relationship with a older woman. Kate Winslet portrays Hanna and David Cross is Michael. A lot of literature is read out, as Hanna asks of Michael but the past make Hanna go away one day. The relationship is enigmatic filled with raw emotions.
Last Tango In Paris
Bernando Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris draws from the richness of a clandestine relationship between a widowed man and a younger woman. The film received an Oscar for screenplay and the art success this movie got was huge.
Harold and Maude
The 1971 audience didn’t quite like it, but it has since been a cult following for cinema lovers. It explores the humour and humanity when a 20-year-old boy meets a 80 year old optimistic woman. The awkwardness that comes with such a huge age gap is quite frankly the selling point of the film.
