15 Best Movies About Forbidden Love (2022) – Nothing could be more painful than experiencing the agony of forbidden love. Love knows no bounds, and it is only human to experience emotions. In the name of love, we disregard situations, time, society, and morality, but it is the pure honesty and wildness of it that makes love the most beautiful and delicate of human emotions. Humans comprehend and feel each other’s misery because empathy is at their foundation. Films about forbidden love have always been a treat for cinephiles, making it an ideal topic for an article.
Needless to say, this is a highly subjective list, and the selection of films may be contentious. But, to be honest, I think that’s part of the enjoyment. After all of that, here is a list of the best movies about forbidden love of all time. These romance films are about taboo relationships. These top forbidden movies are also available on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
The Reader (2008)
The majority of people view ‘The Reader’ as a weak, Oscar-bait drama that amounts to nothing more than a skin show. But, as for me, I adore the flick. It’s extremely flawed and can be a drag at times, but it’s just too beautiful and humanistic to disregard. The film shows a complicated sexual relationship between a teen and a woman in her late thirties. Kate Winslet is gorgeous in her part as a lady torn by her terrible past and attempting to deal with her inner demons. Keep an eye out for its nuanced depiction of mankind.
La Luna (1979)
The troubling bond between a mother and her kid is explored in Bernardo Bertolucci’s controversial thriller. Joe, a teen, has a strained connection with his parents, and when his mother’s husband commits himself, he joins her in Rome. However, the boy’s emotional problems start to affect him, and he begins to use drugs. His mother becomes progressively close to him in attempt to extricate him from the web of addiction, which develops into a sexual relationship. The picture as a whole doesn’t hold up well, but the incestuous scene is done quite nicely.
Harold and Maude (1971)
How could the love story of a 20-year-old guy and an 80-year-old woman not be a case of forbidden love in our world? Hal Ashby’s black comedic romantic drama is around a young man preoccupied with death who attends funerals on a regular basis, arranges false suicides, and grows increasingly estranged from his mother. While romance may not appear to be the film’s thematic focus, the intricate relationship between Harold and Maude is important to appreciating the film’s sheer profundity. They are two distinct worlds with diametrically opposed viewpoints on life that serve as the film’s central theme. It may appear strange and twisted to some, but it has aged extremely well and feels utterly refreshing and original.
The Graduate (1967)
I wasn’t a great fan of ‘The Graduate,’ except for the ending, which is one of the best in cinema, in my opinion. It’s difficult to relate to a coming-of-age tale that’s almost 50 years old. However, there are some beautiful moments in the film that still hold up and touch me tremendously. ‘The Graduate’ was a ground-breaking sensation that altered the way coming-of-age dramas were produced. Benjamin’s sense of anxiety and sexual tension is evident. He gets tempted by the wife of his father’s business partner, but falls in love with her daughter instead. As I already stated, it may not be suitable for modern audiences, but it is still a fantastic experience and a thrilling ride.
Lolita (1962)
‘Lolita,’ arguably one of Stanley Kubrick’s lesser-known films, depicts the story of a middle-aged guy who is madly in love with a beautiful teenage girl. ‘Lolita,’ adapted from Vladimir Nokobov’s novel of the same name, sparked controversy due to its controversial subject and was blasted by critics. Kubrick injects a dark, perverted sense of humour throughout the film, which fits well with its chaotic, frequently flippant plot. The Censor Board had serious constraints back then, thus Kubrick had to compromise on certain aspects of the picture that were extremely bold and shocking for their day. On a thematic level, this has an impact on the picture. Nonetheless, it’s a fascinating film made by a filmmaker who would transform cinema in the coming years.
Her (2013)
Do we love someone due of their physical appearance? No, not really, because Spike Jonze convinced us that you could fall in love with an operating system as well. ‘Her,’ set in the future, tells the story of Theodore Twombly, a lonely, divorced man who buys an artificially intelligent operating system and establishes an intense relationship with it. There’s a strong feeling of irony here, as although being set in an unknown future time, ‘Her’ is very much a film about today. In an unforgiving society, we are sometimes unkind to ourselves and struggle with our own identity. Love in this context is just too abstract for any type of bodily manifestation. It’s really moving and empathetic.
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
‘Boys Don’t Cry’ is a chilling examination of repressed sexuality and gender identity. The film is based on the true tale of Brandon Teena, a transgender American man who was brutally raped and murdered in Nebraska. Brandon, played by Hillary Swank, assumes a male identity and relocates to Nebraska, where he meets and falls in love with Lana. Despite Lana realizing Brandon’s true identity, they continue to be lovers. Their romance is hard and unpredictable as violence consumes their lovely but fleeting time together. If your concept of powerful cinema is one that has the ability to hurt and disturb you emotionally, then this is the film for you.
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
‘The Ballad of Jack and Rose’ is a gorgeously flawed film on the delicate complexities of human relationships. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Jack, a farmer with a heart problem who lives with his daughter, who is cut off from the outside world. When Jack brings his girlfriend, Kathleen, and her two teenage kids home, his daughter develops feelings of envy for his partner. He is furious when he discovers she had sex with Kathleen’s kid, but he is torn when he sees she is in love with him. It’s a brilliantly crafted drama that occasionally drifts and meanders but manages to strike a chord with you due to the sheer warmth and humanity that it brings in.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
This would not come as a surprise. Ang Lee’s heartbreaking cowboy romance is surely one of the most amazing stories of forbidden love. During the summer, Jack and Ennis spend time together in the Wyoming mountains and build a very passionate sexual and emotional relationship with each other. They are portrayed as misfits, living in a harsh, judgmental environment where feelings and wants are suppressed. The film brilliantly conveys the anxiety, vigor, passion, and pain of love. Without a question, this is a film for the ages.
Baran (2001)
Majid Majidi, an Iranian filmmaker, is a master of his craft. His films have an astounding feeling of warmth and simplicity that makes them engaging and charming. ‘Baran’ is one of his most accomplished masterpieces. It tells the story of a 17-year-old guy who works on a construction site and falls in love with an Afghan refugee girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to work on the site. Only the boy knows the truth, as he quietly observes her from behind her closed door, hoping to catch a peek of her true beauty. They don’t get to chat to one other, yet their feelings for each other are intense. Majid Majidi brilliantly catches every element that contributes to the story’s beauty.
The Age of Innocence (1993)
When people think Martin Scorsese is an unemotional director, I show them this film. Few love stories have been as emotionally and physically devastating as ‘The Age of Innocence.’ It depicts the story of Newland Archer, a young and ambitious lawyer who is engaged to a woman from a well-known family. Things change, however, when Archer falls in love with his fiancee’s cousin, Ellen. Their suppressed feelings heighten the passion and intimacy of their relationship, resulting in a terrible ending. It’s harsh, inexplicably cruel, and far too powerful to discuss.
Ma Mere (2004)
‘Ma Mere,’ arguably the most divisive film on the list, is easily the most distressing and unwatchable film about incest ever filmed. The film stars Isabelle Huppert as an incestuous mother fascinated with sex who invites her son to have sex with her. Helene requests that her son physically harm her by cutting her abdomen, and when his masturbation approaches a climax, she slices her own throat. The picture is brazenly provocative and, for the most part, unwatchable, but you can’t take your gaze away from an explosive Isabelle Huppert, who is in great form here.
Delta (2008)
This Hungarian treasure is a shamefully underappreciated drama about an estranged brother and sister’s heartbreaking incestuous relationship. The picture has a dark tone that represents the odd relationship between its protagonists, but it does not take advantage of the story’s provocative aspect. There is a sense of looming danger throughout the film, but the way it shows its characters and their relationship makes us empathize with them rather than trying to turn us off with obvious emotional manipulation.
Carol (2015)
‘Carol,’ directed by Todd Haynes, is simply one of the most beautiful films about what it’s like to fall in love. These are two people dying to fall into one other’s arms, desperate for emotional release from the confines of a frigid society. Therese is a bashful young lady who is dissatisfied with her lover. Carol is an affluent, middle-aged mother who is about to divorce. These are two people in different stages of life and from different social classes, but the world around them is cold and indifferent to their feelings and desires, which is when they meet. With an outstanding ensemble and a complex storyline, Haynes creates a timeless love story that is full of warmth and heart.
A Short Film About Love (1988)
When people talk of European film, the names that come to mind first are Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, Luis Bunuel, Michael Haneke, and so on. But Krzysztof Kieslowski’s name is frequently neglected, and in my opinion, he ranks alongside the aforementioned greats as one of the finest auteurs European film has ever created. He had this uncanny capacity to get so deeply personal and intimate with you that you were drenched in a variety of feelings.
‘A Short Film About Love’ was a cinematic extension of the sixth episode of his critically praised television drama ‘Dekalog,’ and it was one of his lesser-known works. Teenage angst and sexual attraction have never been depicted in cinema so wonderfully as Kieslowski paints the craziness, riddle, pleasure, and melancholy of human emotion so delicate but profound and enchanting that it defies description. I wouldn’t reveal too much about the film here because it means so much to me. It’s heartbreaking, achingly honest, yet addictive all at the same time.