1. Loretta’s Unlucky Love

Loretta, 37, had been married once before. But she deemed it bad luck, as it hadn’t followed the proper steps of a marriage. Her late husband never knelt to slip a ring on her finger, as romance novels describe. Their wedding wasn’t held in a church. Her father, a skilled but stingy plumber, didn’t cover the full cost. Now, Loretta is set to marry Johny, a boyish man in his forties, a friend of her late husband. She doesn’t love him—a fact her mother finds reassuring, believing that marrying for love leaves a woman vulnerable to manipulation.

2. A Fated Meeting

Ronny, younger than Loretta, runs a bakery. Their meeting feels scripted by destiny. He’s Johny’s brother, estranged for five years after Johny’s actions cost Ronny a hand and his fiancée. Loretta meets Ronny to convince him to reconcile with Johny and attend their wedding while Johny is in Italy, bidding farewell to his dying mother.

3. The Moon’s Magic

The moon weaves through the film’s heart. Under its radiant glow, a young, lovesick man waits all night for his beloved. But as they age and fade, he chases another. The moon, a time machine, carries an elderly couple back to their vibrant, 25-year-old selves.

In that flood of moonlight, Loretta is an angel.

In that same glow, her mother weeps silently by the bedroom curtains as her drunken husband sleeps alone.

By the moonlit river, Loretta’s aging grandfather directs his dogs to the sky, howling “Howl” like wild wolves.

4. Ronny’s Confession

Under that moon-drenched Manhattan night, Ronny speaks to Loretta:

“Loretta, I love you. Not like the kind of love people talk about—I don’t even know what the hell it is. But love doesn’t make things beautiful. It ruins them. It tears your heart apart and makes everything a mess. We’re not here to make things perfect. Snowflakes are perfect. Stars are perfect. Not us. We’re here to hurt each other, break each other’s hearts, love the wrong person, and die. Come upstairs with me, my love. Don’t try to force your life into someone else’s idea of sweet happiness. Don’t force yourself to sip milk and nibble cookies when you crave meat. Red meat, like me. Wolves run with wolves. It’s that simple.”

Nicolas Cage, just 23 in this film, is strikingly handsome, robust, with dreamy eyes and a fiery passion—unlike the weathered, wrinkled figure in his recent roles.

5. A Kiss Like No Other

The kiss scene is a standout. As Loretta and Ronny argue about their lives, Ronny, in a fit of frustration, flips the dining table to shatter the barrier between them. He sweeps her up, kissing her with a fervor as if he’s never kissed before. Loretta protests, “Wait a minute, wait a minute,” her voice—Cher’s voice—vibrant and commanding. They pull apart, lock eyes, and then… kiss again, even more passionately.

It’s a kiss both wild and hesitant. Neither has loved anyone else in five or seven years since losing the ones they cherished most. They’d lost faith in love, in miracles. And yet, they realize everything they once believed was utterly wrong.

6. Why Men Chase?

“…”

“Why do men chase women?”

“Because women were made from Adam’s rib, so men always feel a void here. They need a woman to feel complete.”

“Why do men chase so many women?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re afraid of death.”

— From a conversation between Rose, Loretta’s mother, and Johny

Why do men chase so many women?