Notoriously difficult to make it work, the long distance relationship is far from being a modern invention, as one should just look at the list of wars throughout history to realize that, yet the 20th century explosion of population mobility, as well as the emancipation of women lead to a huge number of couples living in different places throughout the world. Thankfully, the modern world also works towards alleviating the very problems it created, by offering communication channels that would have been unthinkable even two decades ago and art skilfully plays its role in soothing the soul. Whenever a relationship seems doomed and worthless, music and film can be there to make the heart strong, by proving you are not the only one who feels like that. Here are 5 best movies and songs ideas to help with a healthy long distance relationship.
1. True Love Waits – Radiohead
An amazing track about long-distance relationships by Radiohead that the band almost tried to keep secret, only ever preforming it live beginning with 1995, coming close to an official release by being included on their 2001 bootleg-like EP “I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings” where it, suitably, provides the record’s coda. The song’s brief lyrics fir perfectly with the minimalistic acoustic instrumentation and does manage to speak to those who deal with desperation of loneliness, as well as the desire to find true love, knowing full well that the true love is one that waits.
2. Like Crazy (2011)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ZV-bwZmBw
A small budget cute indie film with a big heart, the 2011 Like Crazy tells not only the story of a transatlantic love that is constantly thwarted by bureaucracy, but of the often absurd consequences that the immigration system can lead to. Anna (Felicity Jones) is a British student who falls in love during college with American student Jacob (Anton Yelchin), but the two are separated after she overstays her student visa, leading to her being banned from travelling to visit him in the United States. Their stories unfold as both he and she are dealing with the chaos, and the creative ways they manage to cope with a constantly out of country partner, while trying to make their relationship last.
3. Such Great Heights – The Postal Service
Few people would instantly associated electronic music with songs for a long distance relationship, yet the 2003 single from The Postal Service challenges that preconception. A more optimistic take on the issue, this song is taking a proactive approach to longing, decided do away with using music to tell the world how desperation feels and, instead, uses the song as a lighthouse that will create a connection directly between the singer and his lover. In lieu of a sample, here’s a quote for any of you that will stay on your mind for days on end: “When you are out there on the road/For several weeks of shows/And when you scan the radio,/I hope this song will guide you home”.
4. You’ve Got Mail (1998)
This 1998 Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fun romantic comedy-drama may seem outdated now, but it was an ahead-of-it-time movie to depict the use of the Internet to maintain a long term relationship and, indeed, one of the first motion pictures making a point about the Internet as something else other than a Sci-Fi whiz-kid contraption. Based on the 1937 play “Parfumerie” by Miklós László, You’ve Got Mail updates the plot by using a modern setting and pairs up Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in an online date scheme/electronic letters courtship, where, funny enough, they are unaware of their business rivalry in the real world.
5. Take It with Me – Tom Waits
An undisputed master of the broken heart, few songwriters are able to capture the desolation of longing as well as the legendary Tom Waits. Unlike his other masterpiece inspired by a long distance relationship, the energetic “Telephone Call from Istanbul”, Take It with Me is a sad and mellow affair. This piano and voice piece from his 1999 “Mule Variations” album is a constructed in a way that gives insight to the once good times of the past, where the two were together, the low present, where distances are made visible by the mentions of trains, as well as the bitter-sweet future, where a hope of reunification remains.