Best love stories - non "traditional"

[lilalex666]

By far my favorite genre of movie, the love story has way too many shitty additions to its collection. So many, that it is hard to find the good ones. Im looking for ones I haven't discovered yet.
by traditional I mean, all that Freddy Prince Jr., Zack Efron pulpy garbage.
My favorite love story movies include:
the Princess and the Warrior
Buffalo 66
True Romance
Oldboy
Wristcutters: a love story
Run Lola Run
Leon: The professional
Let the right one in

[mattorama12]

Two suggestions for you are Harold and Maude and Love Exposure. Both are movies I liked, but didn't love, but that many people love more than I do. And importantly, they both fit the category to a T.

Harold and Maude explores a relationship between a 14 year old boy who's obsessed with death, and a very lively elderly woman. It's very 70s and very offbeat.

Love Exposure is anything but traditional. I think it's a movie best to know little about going in, so I won't describe any plot points. To give you a sense for the feel of the film, it's incredibly dark, but also comical and weirdly cheesy at times. It's definitely one of the most unique movies I've seen that couldn't be described as art house, so it's worth watching. It is absurdly long, though.

[ShogunRua]

Wait, how was Leon a "love story", traditional or otherwise?!

Two suggestions for you are Harold and Maude and Love Exposure.

I was literally going to post Love Exposure as my top recommendation. (I find Harold and Maude okay, but overrated as anything other than an absurdist black comedy)

Beyond that, I would also recommend Chan-Woo Park's I'm a Cyborg but that's Okay, a love story that takes place within a lunatic asylum, featuring a woman who believes she is a combat cyborg.

[mattorama12]

I was literally going to post Love Exposure as my top recommendation.

I saw the movie on your recommendation, so I figured you'd be posting it if I didn't. Though I didn't love the movie as much as you, it couldn't be a better fit for this topic.

Also, just thought of a few more to add to the list. Sin Nombre is a favorite film of mine, and it seems to be somewhat forgotten (or never known). It was directed by Cary Fukunaga, whose gone on to a little more notoriety as the director of the first season of True Detective.

Ex Machina and Her are both movies that explore relationships between people and AIs. Both are excellent.

[TheDenizen]

If you're gonna consider Leon and (lol) Oldboy as love stories, you might as well check out Flesh and Blood starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh. There's some romance, but also blood and rape and murder.

Lol typing that sentence reminded me of Rob Roy, which also fits the category....and is an excellent movie. Plus I will concur that Love Exposure is brilliant.

[Peeperkorn41]

Maybe check out:
Tyrannosaur
Her
Breaking The Waves
Amour
Frequencies
Upstream Color

[VinegarBob]

Oasis (2002)
Failan (2001)

[lilalex666]

Will check out all suggestions so far. Thanks.
And...what is Leon if not a love story? Its not romantic love, but he is very much in love with that little girl, and that love is what the whole movie revolves around.
Oldboy is the same way. Oh Dae su falls deeply in love with the girl, and eventually makes a large sacrifice in order to continue being in love with her. if thats not a love a story I dont know what is. Obviously it is a revenge action flick first, but the love story is extremely important to the film, if not most important.

[TheDenizen]

Will check out all suggestions so far. Thanks.
And...what is Leon if not a love story? Its not romantic love, but he is very much in love with that little girl, and that love is what the whole movie revolves around.
Oldboy is the same way. Oh Dae su falls deeply in love with the girl, and eventually makes a large sacrifice in order to continue being in love with her. if thats not a love a story I dont know what is. Obviously it is a revenge action flick first, but the love story is extremely important to the film, if not most important.

I have a different interpretation of both films. Here's my $0.02

Leon is not in love with Matilda, romantically or otherwise. He cares about her, yes, and wants to protect her but that's as far as it goes. Matilda is more infatuated with Leon than in love. It's not a love story, it's a brutal action film about a ruthless hitman trying to protect an innocent from evil the only way he knows how.

Oldboy Spoilers ahoy!
[spoiler]Oh Dae Su doesn't fall in love with Mido at all (though he thinks he does, at least initially). Their relationship was solely the product of post hypnotic suggestion to both. Dae Su's sacrifice (cutting off his tongue and submitting to the last hypnosis session) is merely to save Mido from the humiliation of knowing the truth, and in the desperate hope that he will forget it himself. It's not their relationship that is vital to the story, but how both were manipulated into it.[/spoiler]

and oh yeah, Tyrannosaur is great.

[3dRevelation]

First thing that popped into my head was Aronofsky's The Fountain. I'd definitely recommend it (you might fall in love with the score though).