Insta-Love on the big screen

What is insta-love?

Love at first sight aka Insta-Love is a common trope used in both literature and film where a character feels romantically attracted to a complete stranger at first sight.



These authors say it best:

“Colpo di fulmine. The thunderbolt, as Italians call it. When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can’t be denied. It’s beautiful and messy,cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there’s no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed.” 

― J.M. Darhower, Sempre

“I could not tell you if I loved you the first moment I saw you, or if it was the second or third or fourth. But I remember the first moment I looked at you walking toward me and realized that somehow the rest of the world seemed to vanish when I was with you.” 

― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince

Do you believe in insta-love?

Insta-attraction? Yes. But insta-love? Not really. But let's agree to disagree shall we?

Again these authors sum it up perfectly:

“Love is the strangest, most illogical thing in the world.” 

― Jennifer E. Smith, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

“And when her eyes met mine, I felt something click, like a key turning in a lock. Believe me, I'm no romantic, and while I've heard about love at first sight, I've never believed in it, and I still don't. But even so, there was something there, something recognizably real, and I couldn't look away.” 

― Nicholas Sparks, Dear John

Today I'll be showcasing some movies both animated and live action that use this trope. Surprisingly, there seems to be a LOT of movies where the protagonists experiences instantaneous attraction for their love interests. And despite the unrealistic nature of this concept a lot of people(myself included) seem to ADORE these movies.