Down-to-Earth Movies and More for the Season

Romance means different things to different people, but when it is mentioned most people conjure up images of flowers and candy, sunsets and diamond rings.  With Valentine's Day a few weeks away lots of people have romance on their minds, but after the day is done, what happens to our relationships?  How can we keep up the momentum of romance?  Even if we don't celebrate every day with wine and roses, most of try to keep our relationships happy with little sacrifices, like getting up at three in the morning to help a partner out with a cause he believes in.

For all those of us who like to remember that there will be certain times when romance won't be present, here is a list of movies that show the realistic side of love, both the good times and the hard times.


Blue Valentine

Days of Wine and Roses (Not in the library catalog, but a great movie!)

500 Days of Summer

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

A Separation

Lars and the Real Girl

Juno

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Kramer Vs. Kramer

Atonement

Like Crazy

Revolutionary Road

An Education

Mozart and the Whale


Here is a list of memoirs written by women who write about the good and the bad in their relationships:

No Cheating, No Dying: I Had a Good Marriage, Then I Tried to Make it Better by Elizabeth Weil

Why I'm Still Married: Women Write their Hearts Out on Love, Loss, Sex and Who Does the Dishes edited by Karen Propp and Jean Trounstine

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert

Marriage and Other Acts of Charity: A Memoir by Kate Braestrup

The Other Woman: Twenty-One Wives, Lovers, and Others Talk Openly About Sex, Deception, Love, and Betrayal edited by Victoria Zackheim

Marrying Anita: A Quest for Love in the New India by Anita Jain

Lust in Translation: The Rules of Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee by Pamela Druckerman