Romance backdrop

Romance movies

Stories of passion, heartbreak, and intimacy that explore the beautiful and complicated nature of love.

Subgenres include: Romantic Comedy, Passionate Romance, Dark Romance.

Penelope

1371. Penelope

Fantasy Comedy Romance Fantasy Romance High-Concept Comedy
6.7

20071h 43min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Mark Palansky

Forlorn heiress Penelope Wilhern is cursed, and the only way out is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she find her soulmate when she's sequestered inside her family's estate with only her parents to keep her company? This untraditional fairy tale is about a girl who bucks convention to create her own happy ending.

Themes

Appearance vs identity, Public spectacle and tabloids, Forced marriage expectations, Self empowerment and autonomy, Class constraints and blue bloods, Transformation and self acceptance

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

P.S. I Love You

1372. P.S. I Love You

Drama Romance Passionate Romance Relationship Drama
7.0

20072h 6min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Richard LaGravenese

A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.

Themes

Memory shaping identity, Grief processing, Healing through friendship, Moving forward with love, Creative reinvention, Family obligation and support

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Sky of Love

1373. Sky of Love

Romance Drama
6.8

20072h 9min

Director: Natsuki Imai

Mika is a fresh high school student who starts texting a mysterious boy. She is shocked when he reveals who he is - Hiro, a delinquent attending her school. What she doesn't know is that Hiro isn't as bad as he seems.


Dan in Real Life

1374. Dan in Real Life

Comedy Romance Drama Romantic Comedy Family Drama
6.8

20071h 38min

United States

Director: Peter Hedges

Advice columnist Dan Burns is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent to three precocious daughters. Things get even more complicated when Dan finds out that the woman he falls in love with is actually his brother's new girlfriend.

Themes

Generational expectations, Family duty vs romance, Rapid infatuation consequences, Jealousy among siblings, Deception for harmony, Forgiveness and boundaries

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Northanger Abbey

1375. Northanger Abbey

Romance Drama TV Movie Passionate Romance Romance TV Movie
7.2

20071h 33min

Ireland, United Kingdom

Director: Jon Jones

Once a wealthy general who has squandered his fortune on gambling wants to marry his son off advantageously to a girl he mistakenly believes is rich. After inviting the prospective daughter-in-law to his estate, he discovers she is actually poor, even as love begins to blossom between the two young people.

Themes

Social status pressures, Imagination vs reality, Wealth misrepresentation, Gossip and manipulation, Romantic negotiation under scrutiny, Shared literary taste

Available on

Apple TV
Kanopy
Hoopla
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Wristcutters: A Love Story

1376. Wristcutters: A Love Story

Comedy Drama Fantasy Romance Dark Comedy
7.2

20071h 28min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Goran Dukić

Zia kills himself and wakes up in an afterlife that looks just like his old life, only grayer, lonelier, and impossible to escape. When he hears his ex has also checked in to this dead-end limbo, he hits the road through this cosmic no-exit, chasing a love story that might already be over.

Themes

Abuse of power, Search for connection, Afterlife rules, Miracles depend on apathy, Covert authority manipulation, Romance amid loss

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Lars and the Real Girl

1377. Lars and the Real Girl

Comedy Drama Romance Romantic Comedy Relationship Drama
7.3

20071h 47min

United States

Director: Craig Gillespie

Lars finally finds a ‘girlfriend’ who makes him feel safe, seen, and alive—only she’s a life-size plastic doll. His family and town play along to protect his fragile heart. But when real connections start knocking, will Lars cling to the love that saved him or risk shattering his illusion to truly live?

Themes

Loneliness under community gaze, Stigma around mental illness, Delusion as coping mechanism, Doll as social catalyst, Rituals of social inclusion, Family distance and care

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Love in the Time of Cholera

1378. Love in the Time of Cholera

Drama Romance Passionate Romance Relationship Drama
6.4

20072h 19min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Mike Newell

In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.

Themes

Social climbing, Extramarital temptation, Unrequited love, Secret correspondence, Emotional distance, Longing over decades

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Lust, Caution

1379. Lust, Caution

Action Drama Romance Thriller Spy Action
7.5

20072h 38min

China, Hong Kong SAR China

Director: Ang Lee

During World War II, a secret agent must seduce and assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai.

Themes

Power dynamics and coercion, Deception and betrayal, Loyalty vs duty, Love under occupation, Sexual politics under war, Clandestine resistance operations

Available on

Apple TV
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Clannad: The Motion Picture

1380. Clannad: The Motion Picture

Animation Drama Romance
7.3

20071h 34min

Director: Osamu Dezaki

Plagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and his world begins to change. While helping Nagisa revive the defunct Drama Club at their high school, Tomoya discovers that she has the same dreams. Their story starts beneath the cherry blossoms, but where will fate lead them?