We are glad that 500 Days of Summer gave us the words we were now looking for to describe what Seasons is about. It is a “story of love” between two best friends and what causes them to be together and what makes them stray apart, with love being constant throughout. When we first started watching Seasons, we honestly felt that every person must deeply self-reflect on where their ideas of what a relationship should be like and their subsequent expectations from it come from. That is the only thing that allows one to have healthy relationships and develop as a well-rounded individual. But this is not a story about someone learning to be alone. It is about two people who ended up loving each other at the wrong times.
Something we noticed while watching Seasons is that cynics would need to have a bit of patience. That is because it is very easy to dislike Charlie and the direction her character takes. It is not clear whether she is actually in love with Kurt or if she is just missing his attention. We always hate the trope of absence bringing in the realization of love. It reeks of the other person being taken for granted and a lack of self-awareness which we consider embarrassing. Please remember that it is a cynic talking. A romantic would say that distance makes one reflect and realize, which paves the way for romantic feelings to come to the forefront. Depending on whether you are a cynic or a romantic, your feelings for Charlie will change. Romcoms become a completely different ballgame when you dislike the protagonists.
Yet, the strength of Seasons lies in the fact that even if you are annoyed by Charlie, you understand her. This movie tells more of her story than Kurt’s. We have all known someone like Charlie or have been her at some point or another. The allure of “the perfect one” created by this world is way too strong for us not to have been in her shoes. That is why you persevere. At one point, you do wonder what is so special about Kurt other than the fact that he has always been there. Is that all Charlie cares about, which is when you get a glimpse of her past and how her parents’ death has affected her enough for that to be the defining criteria in her selection of a romantic partner? It is important to remember that what makes Seasons such a good story is that it gives rise to all these questions. Love is seldom a case of “He fell, she fell, and they found each other.” It is messy, insecure, and involves a lot of push and pull. What ends up making it worth it is a sense of wanting to do the right thing at the end of the day, which is the one thing Charlie forgot about. Had she not made that one mistake, she and Kurt would have been together. We don’t often see this side of love, and that makes Seasons a refreshing watch.
Usually, a lot of rom-coms these days focus on people’s journeys of self-empowerment and their need to find their identity outside of a relationship. It is great because, to love someone in a healthy manner, self-love must be present in abundance at first. While we are not criticizing it, we were left a little jaded by people outgrowing the need for relationships once they learned to be with themselves. Whatever the extent of our cynicism, this trope paints the picture that all relationships are only compensation for one’s lack of love for oneself. That is far from the truth because relationships are more complex than that. It is a personal belief that one can never really tell why they are in love with someone except that they simply are. If you can name a reason, it is whatever you feel is lacking in you. This brings us to Charlie, who needs companionship more than anything. Maybe it started when she lost her parents, and even though she lived a full life by herself, she did not recognize that she had plenty of cause to be happy, whether she found her forever companion or not. When she lied to Kurt, she finally realized that the price she was going to pay for this was never going to be worth it.
Seasons might look like a simple watch, but the way it explored this nuance of why we want to be with someone or what it means to love a person while they are not your ideal partner is commendable. The two women Kurt wanted to marry, Jane and Biance, were described by him in similar terms: driven, made him want to be better and great. Charlie was none of that; she was just comfortable for Kurt, and even though that made him love her at one point, he wanted more from a partner. By the end of the movie, Charlie realizes this, but she has learned to have a better pursuit in her life: herself instead of a partner, and that is why she doesn’t feel insecure or bad about for not being what Kurt needs.
Seasons is probably going to get lost in the archives and will not be watched by as many people as it should be. It really starts out as another cliche rom-com, and that is how it looks for the better part of its runtime. However, it is the ending of the movie that paints it in such a different light. More than a first watch, Seasons would make for a great second watch, where you better understand the emotions of the characters and their ramifications. The actors played their parts perfectly, and the scenery in the movie was beautiful. Seasons doesn’t get dull even for a second, and the way it intercuts between the relevant past and present storylines is what lends the movie its strength and explains the motives of the characters. We would definitely ask you to watch this movie.
