Film is one of the main forms of entertainment for the public during holidays. There are always some films more suitable for a certain group to watch on a particular holiday. Naturally, there are also films inappropriate to a holiday! Spoilers ahead.

La La Land (2016) was released in China on Valentine’s Day, 2017. Many couples went to the cinema with the expectation of witnessing romance. Although the story is about falling in love, the ending shows a reality full of regret. While, as a single, I enjoyed the film, I heard that many couples chose to break up after watching it.

When watching a film like Kimi no na wa (Your Name) (2016), many couples can’t help asking their partner: ‘Do you love me like the protagonist in this film?’ This problem can become the spark that ends the relationship. The year of release, a large number of couples broke up after watching this film. Now, Your Name could be a reason behind these breakups. Another possibly more terrible reason has nothing to do with the content of the film. Maybe they just want the chance to break up with you…

At first glance, the married couple from Marriage Story (2019) respect each other greatly. Their separation is a gentle one, like rain on a mild spring wind. Gradually, with the court hearing approaching and the subsequent verbal violence, we see that the wounds between them have long been unable to heal. Divorce may be the best choice for both of them and the passion and warmth of the past can only be an aftertaste.

In Revolutionary Road (2008), we never find out how the current husband (Leonardo Di Caprio) feels about his wife’s – played by Kate Winslet – heterosexual friend. What we do know is that Kate and Leonardo are real-life best friends. They choose to keep their love platonic. We also know that Winslet and Sam Mendes were together for a long time but their relationship ended in divorce. The couple’s story in the film is also sad. It not only destroys the happy ending we dreamt of for Titanic (1997) but also, the fierce conflict between dream and marriage, which is a severe test for any couple. What’s most terrible to see if the ineffectiveness of the couple’s communication in the film. This common problem can make people feel even more desperate than before they started watching the film.

When Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018) was released in China, the film-distributors tried to lure people to the cinema by marketing it as a romantic film. Not only did movie-going couples not see the romance they wanted but they also left the theatre feeling sleepy because of the slow pace and dream-like atmosphere deliberately created by the director.

On the surface, Gone Girl’s Nick and Amy (Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike) are a model couple. Beneath the surface, they are beasts. Both of them will do anything to get their way, by fair means or foul.

La cara occulta (The Hidden Face) (2011) illustrates one thing: human nature cannot be tested, whether in men or women. Love and trust are so fragile, so vulnerable. So unless your relationship is strong, stay away from this film on Valentine’s Day.

He’s Just Not That Into You (2009) is a realistic portrayal of girls who love hard. Watching such films, we feel anxious and sad for the characters. We hope that these love-sick characters will get out of their struggles as soon as possible. We hope that they don’t waste their love and energies on people who are just not that into them. Watching all of this could be a great test for some couples.

At its core, Perfetti sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers) (2016) is similar to The Hidden Face. It tells us that human nature can’t stand being tested. It is difficult for us to know what – under the surface – is the basis of interpersonal relationships. We don’t know how much is true and how much is a lie which is why love is so fragile.

After watching Blue Valentine (2010), one reviewer commented that marriage and love are a pair of sworn enemies because they are representatives of the contradiction between reality and the ideal. Another reviewer said that marriage is not the grave of all love, but the grave of love in which the couple does not understand love. If you want to break up, get married, or get divorced, this is the film for you.

Written for The Film Dispatch by Yudong Liu.