Monika’s Pensieve

I’ve been looking through lots of best kiss movie lists and once again have come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with me :] I think I’m even more out of touch with other human beings in my kissing scene preferences than in nude scene preferences…

The Criteria:

• Two or more beings of some sort have to kiss in the scene ;)
• When I say “kiss” I mean on the mouth. I might write a list of scenes involving other body parts some other time ;)
• Whether we see the actors actually locking lips is not important to me (in other words - back of the head Bollywood shots are in ;)).
• The scene need not be romantic and the two characters need not love each other. This, I think, is where my list differs significantly from most other stuff on-line. And I kind of feel like a pervert :] There is even some stuff on this list, which is non-consensual. You have been warned! That said, there are some conventional choices also.
• By “best” I just mean I like the scene and found it very memorable. I make no claims beyond that ;)

The kiss comes at the end of the film, so careful - the clip is a major spoiler!
It’s a scene I can watch over and over again ;) It has to be the funniest and most “humiliating” kiss ever. I love the build up.
Certainly, one of the most talked about “kisses” in Bollywood in the last couple of years. They don’t actually lock lips, which Shahrukh Khan apparently believed was a mistake (that’s the same Shahrukh who has never kissed any of his leading ladies in his 20 years of playing romantic heroes ;)). It’s still a really cool kiss though *grin*

This won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, so I’m being conventional here ;) I love how awkward it is (apparently they miscommunicated before they shot the scene and they were both waiting for the other person to cover the remaining gap lol).
It’s actually a very creepy scene. I mean, just beforehand, he admits he’s been regularly breaking in to her house to watch her sleep and then she’s supposed to keep still because otherwise he might accidentally kill her and drink her blood ;) I like kisses with strange vibes, so this works for me, but I’m kind of surprised it works for so many other people as well ;)

They actually kiss twice in the film and oddly enough the first kiss (which I’m not that fond of) is all over youtube, but the second one, which is the one that does it for me, is nowhere to be found :]
Something I generally like about the Twilight kisses is that they’re quite unglamorous. It just looks like two teenagers kissing rather than a hot Hollywood kiss kind of thing (New Moon is a bit more conventional in this respect, but Twilight and Eclipse go with awkward sort of vibes for the most part). This one really does it for me because it’s so strange on an emotional level. Edward practically witnesses Bella’s betrayal and there’s a bit of manipulation on Jacob’s part as well. It’s all very twisted and weird.

Bollywood doesn’t do kissing scenes often. But when they do, they tend to make a meal out of it!
This one is between husband and wife on the piano *grin* It’s really sweet, but also beautifully shot, lighted and “choreographed”. I’ve rarely seen a set-up quite that intricate for a kissing scene.

Admittedly, Shahrukh Khan is not somebody who you expect to see on a best kiss list and you’d be correct in guessing that there’s no lip-lock in this one ;) That said, if you don’t know about his “no kissing rule”, the lack of lip-lock in this is not at all obvious - it’s shot very well.
As I said, some of the scenes on this list are non-consensual and this is one of them. The scene feels almost like rape. But that’s why I like it - there’s a real sense of him violating her. So often such scenes don’t have much of an emotional impact and this one really does.

Rani Mukherji’s character is blind and deaf. She accepts that she will probably never have a partner, but she really needs to find out what it’s like to kiss someone. The only person she can ask is her teacher. Their relationship is far from being a romantic one, so this is not something he really feels he can give… but he does.
It’s very beautifully shot. And I get a weird kick out of the thought that Rani Mukherji has kissed both Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan (father and son) on screen, but that’s beside the point ;)

And the non-consensual stuff gets worse ;) This is part of a torture and interrogation scene. The interrogator (Alan Rickman) first eats tomato and garlic and then kisses the victim as he’s still chewing and drooling. It’s gross, of course, but that’s the point.
If I had to pick the most disturbing kissing scene I can remember it would probably be this one… although it also makes me laugh. The “I saw that in a movie once” line totally cracks me up, so I end up laughing and feeling very uncomfortable at the same time…

I haven’t seen this one listed on any Best Kiss lists, but it can’t just be me cause it’s all over youtube in many versions ;)
It’s the way they look at each other just before… And even the slight look of unease in Rimbaud (DiCaprio) as Verlaine (Thewlis) responds to the seduction attempt. There’s something electric about the whole thing.

This one’s odd cause I barely remember the film (must have seen it 10 years ago or more) and yet the kiss kind of stayed with me ;) It’s a weird one - the replicant kisses its maker before killing him or something along those lines… I don’t remember exactly. What I remember to this day, is the saliva ;) In the director’s cut, as Rutger Hauer draws away, you can see this long string of spit extending between them. I remember I liked it - it added something extra to the feel of the scene ;)
The weird thing was that the spit didn’t seem to be there in the regular cut. Censorship? lol

Special Mentions

• Monkeybone (USA, 2001): Brendan Fraser & monkey
  In case you’re wondering - yes, this one does have a lip-lock *grin* And it’s a real monkey (there is one with a cartoon monkey also, but that’s not the one I’m referring to ;)). The monkey also takes his trousers off during the scene, so it’s full on debauchery *grin*
• Bridget Jones’s Diary (UK/Ireland/France, 2001): Colin Firth & Renee Zellweger
  This is a standard romantic comedy ending kind of kiss I suppose… But I like the whole chasing after him in the middle of winter with hardly any clothes on bit ;)
• Spiderman (USA, 2002): Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst
  The upside down kiss of course!
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (USA/UK, 2010): Rupert Grint & Kate Fleetwood
  Even though I’m more into the Harry Potter franchise, I think Twilight has the better kisses ;-P But this one was hilarious ;)
• Avatar (USA/UK, 2009): Sam Worthington & Zoe Saldana
  It’s the first time I’ve seen a kiss where one of the characters is computer animated and yet it really looks like they’re kissing each other. So I thought it deserved a special mention ;)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (USA/UK, 2010): Daniel Radcliffe & Emma Watson
  Mainly, I just like the way they taunt Ron (Rupert Grint) ;) Hermione (Emma Watson) is particularly vile about it lol
• Hana Yori Dango (Japan, 2005): Jun Matsumoto & Mao Inoue
  I mean the accidental kiss at the party *grin* (for those who don’t know the series, there’s a struggle and the big school bully ends up “accidentally” falling on top of his victim and kissing her ;)) The one at the end of the series with the sunset and all is not my cup of tea ;-P
• Hana zakari no kimi tachi e - Ikemen paradaisu (Japan, 2007): Shun Oguri & everybody
  The character gets drunk veeeeery easily and becomes a kissing monster every time it happens (i.e. he kisses anybody who happens to be nearby, which results in some very strange kisses throughout the series ;)). On the other hand, the more conventional kiss at the end (the one at the airport) does nothing for me ;-P
• Kimi Wa Petto (Japan, 2003): Jun Matsumoto & Koyuki
  A woman lets a teenager stay at her house only if he pretends to be a dog *grin*, but as she gets a boyfriend and all that, her dog has a jealousy attack and forces a kiss on her. Another scene to add to the non-consensual kissing scene tally…