You would think that Jules et Jim would be about two men named Jules and Jim, not about an “unattainable” Jeanne Moreau.
I’d dare mention Love Exposure (Sono Sion), even though it’s not “just” about trying to get the girl. Also, I don’t know if Three Times (Hou Hsiao-Hsien) qualifies with your theme, but there is some of that, and it is beautifully made.
lol good topic. The 00s brought up some absolute classics in that genre: The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 500 Days of Summer, Before Sunset
The Devil is a Woman, the final Dietrich/von Sternberg collaboration.
Casablanca
Rules of the Game
Closer
Random Harvest
Anna Karenina
Gone With the Wind
Jules & Jim
Breathless
Casablanca and In the Mood for Love
Great Expectations- I guess…
Jules and Jim
Breathless
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Bowies space wife)
That Obscure Object of Desire. It’s about more than that but so are some of the others mentioned.
The Great Gatsby (1974) by Jack Clayton
Scent of a Woman (1992) by Martin Brest …. the elusive memory of a woman
Casino
Rouge (1987) – Dir. Stanley Kwan
Yeah, Casablanca and In the Mood for Love are the first ones that came to my mind as well.
This Sporting Life. Hands down.
Pretty much any Godard movie. But in recent films, I’d say Mulholland Drive.
Excellent choices, I can’t believe no one’s mentioned Vertigo!
Could we also count the first half of Taxi Driver?
Tristana
My initial thought was to say The Obscure Object of Desire which someone already mentioned and also I think that’s the whole premise of the movie but then again I really haven’t watched a lot of movies on this subject.
Jules & Jim
Who can forger Bertrand Blier’s Get Out of your Handkerchiefs
For Marissa on Vertigo, I would not classify Novak as an attainable woman; he did get her attention, only she was in denial.
I don’t think Casablanca counts because it was actually Rick’s choice to let go of Ilsa in the end.
Anyway, the two movies that come into mind for me is Breathless and (500) Days of Summer.
Lost Highway is a massive unattainable woman film – taken to psychotic proportions!
Pandora’s Box?
PIERROT LE FOU!
I second THIS SPORTING LIFE.
Also Von Sternberg’s THE BLUE ANGEL, with Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings
The best and funniest book about an unattainable woman is Balzac’s novella “The Duchess of Langeais.”
In films, The Devil is a Woman and its remake That Obscure Object of Desire deserve mention, for taking the subject to extremes.
i suppose Room at the Top and Through the Olive Trees can be considered as striking examples,and maybe Crucified Lovers…
In The Mood For Love followed up by 2046
I also have to go with Pepe Le Pew cartoons
peter smith
I’m a sucker for tragic love stories and I love flicks about men in love with women they can never truly have. Seeing “Two Lovers” recently brought up this question. What are some other great films that cover this theme?