Perils Of Love

Ah, love … It's that time of year again. Chocolates, roses, candle-lit dinners and moon-eyed lovers basking in the heat lamp of their shared affection … Valentine's Day. (Sigh)

However, as the poet once wrote, "Every rose doth have its thorn …" Aye, Bret Michaels, 'tis true, 'tis true. Love, in her fickle, fleeting way, often leads us astray and our primrose path often ends in brambles. But does this make us bitter? Do we reject love and renounce its entreats? NO! We keep coming back for more because this one might be The One. It's true, we are absolute fools for Love, and here's the proof …

This collection features tales neither of happily-ever-afters nor of cynical, Gitane-smoking, never-agains. Instead these films show us the unintended consequences of love, the choices we make and those that are made for us. Whether it's a fleeting moment of weakness that threatens a life-long love (In A Dream), the search for meaning and family in past loves (Broken Flowers), the eternally hopeful search for that one true love ((500) Days of Summer), or the paralysing choice as to whom we love more (Vicky Cristina Barcelona). Each of these films carries a bittersweet message of hope peppered with the sometimes painful realisation that things don't always work out the way we'd planned. Nevertheless, we carry on, always hoping that this time ours will be a happily ever after.