On National Hug Day, we present our top six cinematic embraces
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere.” While perhaps a little on the cheesy side, these words – the famous first lines from Richard Curtis' Love Actually – are as poignant today as they were twelve years ago, as the news continues to be dominated by tales of global unrest and warfare. Narrated by the ever-bumbling Hugh Grant, they are accompanied by moving footage of such airport reunions, involving kissing, laughter, tears, and most notably hugs. Hugs are an expression of love in all its manifestations; they can represent happiness, reunion, comfort, sorrow, parting and more, but they always embody a sense of togetherness and with that hope. Here, in celebration of National Hug Day and cuddles generally, we present our top six embraces on film.
1. Roman Holiday, 1953
The ultimate tale of a beautiful but doomed romance, Roman Holiday follows Audrey Hepburn as a smothered European princess who escapes her entourage for an impromptu adventure while visiting Rome – an adventure defined by a chance meeting and ensuing love affair with American reporter, Joe Bradley (a dashing Gregory Peck). Here, as Ann resolves to relinquish true love for duty, the duo say a heart wrenching goodbye in one of cinema's most moving farewells.
2. The Color Purple, 1985
In a rare moment of unadulterated joy in an altogether harrowing tale, this scene from the celebrated film adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple sees brave and longsuffering protagonist, Celie Harris (Whoopi Goldberg) finally reunited with her two, now grown-up children and her beloved sister after forty years of separation.
3. Good Will Hunting, 1997
Capable of melting even the coldest of hearts, this moment in Good Will Hunting is a master class in acting from Matt Damon and the late, great Robin Williams. The crux of a touching and mutually benefitting relationship between therapist and psychology professor Dr. Sean Maguire and young, deeply troubled genius Will Hunting, here Maguire tactfully but resolutely persuades Hunting that he is the blameless victim of his inner-demons by the simple repetition of the words, "It's not your fault." The hug of all hugs ensues.
4. Forrest Gump, 1994
This hug from 90s favourite Forrest Gump makes our hearts soar. Having returned safely from his time as a soldier in Vietnam, the loveable Gump is at a peace rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. when he finds himself thrust in front of a microphone to deliver a speech to the thousands of protesters crowded below him. Suddenly, he spots his childhood sweetheart Jenny running towards him through the memorial's famous Reflecting Pool, and, abandoning his speech as well as his inhibitions, rushes down to join her in the water in the most tender of embraces.
5. Lost in Translation, 2003
One of film's most cryptic, and talked about, hugs is that between Bob (Bill Murrray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) in Sofia Coppola's cult hit Lost in Translation. The concluding scene, it is the climax of the ageing movie star and college graduate's short yet deeply heartfelt friendship, struck up while staying in the same hotel in Tokyo, and filled with its fair share of pregnant silences. Here, in what we are left to assume is a rare moment of straightforwardness, Bob embraces the tearful Charlotte in a final goodbye and whispers something – deliberately and tantalisingly inaudible to the audience – in her ear.
6. The Railway Children, 1970
"Daddy, my daddy!" The iconic line from this emotional reunion in the film adaptation of E.S. Nesbitt's The Railway Children has been quoted the world over. After a long struggle to prove the innocence of their imprisoned father – wrongly accused of spying for the Russians – Bobbie, the eldest of the three Waterbury children, spots him at the railway station, a free man at last.
