37 not-quite love stories in film

I don't know about you, but I'm sick of hugot. Those trite movie lines, song lyrics, and social media posts, supposedly capturing the many hues of love and despair, have devolved into saccharine ramblings, terrible attempts at wordplay, and superficial sales hooks catering to the Wattpad teen demographic. Instead of expressing profound emotions and deep reflections, hugot now trivializes them. Annoyingly.

So with Valentine's Day now rearing its bright red head, I'm bracing myself for the onslaught of pandering hugot flicks as well as the subsequent Facebook posts quoting lines from such flicks ad nauseam. Or, more likely, I'll be holed up at home with the boyfriend, watching a non-romantic film as our form of protest to the culture of mush.

You with me? Here's my list of films that look like romantic love stories but aren't really. At first glance, they may seem like the usual boy-meets-girl BS, but then they take you somewhere else. They pan out to be masterful works of art, beautiful explorations of the human condition, colored by the many hues of love and despair.