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.

Forgotten Love

11. Forgotten Love

Drama Romance
7.5

20232h 20min

Poland

Director: Michał Gazda

A once-respected surgeon who's lost his family and his memory gets a chance at redemption when he reconnects with someone from his forgotten past.


Julie wants a life that finally feels like her own. To find it, she risks wrecking the career she trained for and the love that keeps her steady. When desire, ambition, and honesty collide, which version of herself will she choose—and who will she leave behind?

Themes

Career vs romance, Creative ambition vs relationship, Age gap relationships, Feminist self determination, Pregnancy and motherhood pressure, Illness and mortality shadow

Available on

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

The Taste of Things

13. The Taste of Things

Romance Drama Passionate Romance Historical Drama
7.4

20232h 15min

Belgium, France

Director: Trần Anh Hùng

Set in 1889 France, Dodin Bouffant is a chef living with his personal cook and lover Eugénie. They share a long history of gastronomy and love but Eugénie refuses to marry Dodin, so the food lover decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.

Themes

Grief and renewal, Unconventional romance, Creative tension under scrutiny, Intimate partnership under pressure, Culinary artistry as identity, Prestige through cuisine

Available on

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

A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorises the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves. The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.


Little Women

15. Little Women

Drama Romance History Historical Drama Passionate Romance
7.8

20192h 15min

United States

Director: Greta Gerwig

Four young sisters live with their mother during the Civil War, while their father is away serving in it. As time passes, the girls grow up, fall in love, and face choices that will shape their entire future.

Themes

Sibling bonds under pressure, Female authorship and ambition, Coming of age under constraint, Class and social expectations, Romance and autonomy, Family duty and sacrifice

Available on

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

Fallen Leaves

16. Fallen Leaves

Romance Comedy Drama Romantic Comedy Relationship Drama
7.3

20231h 21min

Finland, Germany

Director: Aki Kaurismäki

Two lonely strangers in Helsinki plan a simple night of karaoke and maybe a second date, BUT a lost phone number, vanishing jobs, and his drinking turn one missed connection into a quiet battle to find each other again in a city that keeps pushing them apart.

Themes

Economic precarity, Loneliness and connection, Humor amid hardship, Working-class resilience, Miscommunication and chance encounters, Companionship through unlikely bonds

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Fandango At Home
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Downton Abbey: A New Era

17. Downton Abbey: A New Era

Drama Romance Historical Drama Passionate Romance
7.4

20222h 4min

United Kingdom, United States

Director: Simon Curtis

The Crawley family goes on a grand journey to the south of France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess's newly inherited villa. Meanwhile, a Hollywood director seeks to film his latest production at Downton.

Themes

Villa reputation vs money, Villa power dynamics, Testament obligations, Testament legacy vs duty, Southern france setting, Southern france intrigue

Available on

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

20th Century Girl

18. 20th Century Girl

Romance Drama Bittersweet Romance Coming-of-Age Drama
7.4

20221h 59min

South Korea

Director: Bang Woo-ri

In 1999, a teen girl keeps close tabs on a boy in school on behalf of her deeply smitten best friend – then she gets swept up in a love story of her own.

Themes

Friendship under pressure, Unrequited love, Love triangle tension, Coming of age romance, Identity misread, City life pressures

Available on

Netflix
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Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

19. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Drama Romance
7.5

20212h 1min

Japan

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

An unexpected love triangle, a seduction trap, and a random encounter are the three episodes, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.


The Handmaiden

20. The Handmaiden

Thriller Drama Romance Erotic Thriller Historical Drama
8.1

20162h 25min

South Korea

Director: Park Chan-wook

A con man vows to steal a heiress’s fortune, and the pickpocket posing as her handmaiden is his key. But as Sookee shares her bed and wins her heart, betrayal turns into desire. To claim the money, she must ruin the only person who trusts her—so whose side does she destroy?

Themes

Deception through seduction, Romantic coercion, Forgery and manipulation, Inheritance as leverage, Reading as control, Power dynamics in intimate ties

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Fandango At Home
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.