Because for the larger part of my life I had covered my eyes during kissing scenes, and on the whole had not been particularly moved by the man kissing the woman and vice versa, most of these are from the movies I've seen in the last 2-3 years! Selection bias for the win!
Casino Royale (2006)
Eva Green's Vesper Lynd, shaken after seeing Bond (Daniel Craig) beat up some baddies, crawls into a shower, cleansing herself mentally (and physically) of what she has just witnessed. James, in a curiously sensitive, unprecedented (I think) move, climbs in next to Vesper and sits in the stream of water, and ever so gingerly sucks the water? blood? off her fingers. Man, after this scene I was SO sold on the re-imagining of the 007 series.
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
To be truthful, I couldn't remember from reading P&P if Darcy and Elizabeth had really encountered each other on the moor in the wee hours of the morning (for shame!). But for the film it made for a sacred series of moments - each caress building with the rising of the sun and as it breaks over the horizon, the cheeky meant-for-you's finally lock lips!
Amelie (2001)
The entire movie is chock-full of magical moments, so when we get to the face-off between Amelie and Nino, it's surprisingly... simple. I think that's what makes it work though. Amelie's finally stepped out of her solitary fantasy world, her protective shell, into the real world to tackle love and give it a chance. Nino and Amelie start with reciprocal, childlike kisses which then lead to much more...
A Knight's Tale (2001)
I really don't have to say much more than how cute Heath Ledger was when his character Will's bright smile and crinkly eyes appear in triumph and in awe of Shannyn Sossamon's Lady Jocelyn. So in the overblown and cheesy kiss they share at the end of his winning joust everyone cheers and yells, but in the quieter, private kiss they share everyone sighs happily/wistfully and wishes for a Will/Lady Jocelyn of their own.
Donnie Darko (2001)
After presenting a hypothetical science project in class, some of Donnie's classmates cruelly tease the new girl Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone) about her dark family history, which in turn causes Gretchen to run out of the classroom. Donnie runs after her, apologizing for their behavior, and all she does in response is reward him with the hungriest, anguished, most grateful kiss ever.
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)
Zia and Mikal are in a strange purgatory world, a world where suicides are doomed to inhabit. Their search for the "people in charge" - to find a way out or at least to get an explanation, brings them closer together. In one scene on a beach, with no dialogue and beautiful atmospheric music, we see Zia and Mikal flirting, hovering close to each other, speaking softly to each other, then we see the softest flutter of a kiss land between them. Really perfect in depicting a first kiss scenario.
Secretary (2002)
It's an exhausting series of scenes to watch. Maggie Gyllenhaal's self-harming character Lee Holloway, who has come to depend on the domineering tendencies of her boss E. Edward Grey (played by James Spader), has been sitting palms-down, legs apart for days - because she has fallen in love with him, dominant qualities and all and cannot bear to leave him. She never wavers, and after three days, he tenderly carries her away from her ordeal in the sweetest, gentlest instance of him that we see in the entire film.
Jules et Jim (1962)
Best friends Jules and Jim both have feelings for the lovely, enigmatic Catherine. Catherine marries Jules, so Jim can only admire her from afar, secretly. Year later, upon a visit from Jim to Jules and Catherine, Jules notices he might be losing Catherine to Jim - and so he bestows his blessing to them as he would rather lose Catherine to Jim than lose her forever. As the new lovers embrace, the narrator murmurs "Their first kiss lasted all night." Sigh.
Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
James Dean's character Jim Stark, the new kid in town, meets Natalie Wood's Judy, who stands there as her friends make fun of him. Later she apologizes for the way she acts when she's with her friends, to which he says nothing but kisses her lightly on the side of her forehead. She asks "Why did you do that?" And he goes "I felt like it." Wow.
The Fountain (2006)
Hugh Jackman's Tommy Creo is an oncologist, searching for a cure for brain tumors, which his wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz) is dying from. In this scene Izzi is taking a bath, and Tommy watches from the doorway. They talk about his work, etcetera, and in a fit of passion showing his determination not to lose her, her leans into the bathtub, and they kiss, and kiss, and kiss.
Eastern Promises (2007)
Viggo Mortensen's Nikolai says farewell to Naomi Watt's Anna, because he admires her strength & humanity, and most likely because he will never see her again.
Becoming Jane (2007)
My favorite parts of this movie involved shots of James McAvoy (as Jane's love interest Tom LeFroy) gazing intently at...whatever in some very becoming 1800s English clothing, hehe. This candlelit kiss shared by the film's eponymous Jane (Anne Hathaway) and Tom made my heart go all a-flutter when I first saw it.
Cashback (2006)
Cute, arty film with Sean Biggerstaff as Ben, a student artist who develops insomnia after a terrible break-up and so gets a job at a supermarket to help pass the time. In a funny twist he realizes he can freeze and unfreeze time, a skill he finds useful when wooing the girl he realises is the girl of his dreams. Here, he stops the snow. :)
L to R: me, my sister, my uncle Tony
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