29 Best Romance Movies for Every Kind of Love Story

Romance in film isn’t about happily ever after. It’s about connection, longing, the gap between people that sometimes closes and sometimes doesn’t. These twenty-nine films capture love in all its complicated forms.

The Linklater Trilogy

1. Before Sunset (2004)

Richard Linklater reunites Jesse and Céline nine years after Vienna. The entire film is one Paris conversation, and the ending leaves everything unresolved. When Nina Simone plays and Céline dances, you hold your breath.

Modern Classics

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Michel Gondry’s memory-erasing romance is about choosing someone despite knowing how it ends. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet chase through collapsing memories. The ending is hopeful and sad.

3. La La Land (2016)

Damien Chazelle’s musical romance exists in a heightened reality. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone choose their dreams over each other. The fantasy sequence shows the road not taken.

4. Her (2013)

Spike Jonze imagines falling in love with an AI. Joaquin Phoenix’s loneliness is universal, and the film never mocks his feelings. The pastel future is beautiful and melancholy.

5. Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Luca Guadagnino’s Italian summer romance follows Timothée Chalamet’s awakening. The final shot, held on his face by a fire, shows everything he’s feeling. The father’s speech is one of cinema’s great monologues.

6. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Céline Sciamma’s period romance between a painter and her subject is about the gaze. Every glance carries weight, and the final concert sequence is devastating.

7. Past Lives (2023)

Celine Song’s debut follows childhood friends across decades and continents. Some connections don’t resolve. The final conversation is heartbreaking in its restraint.

More Romance Essentials

1. “Casablanca” (1942) - Curtiz’s wartime sacrifice
2. “Roman Holiday” (1953) - Wyler’s fairy tale
3. “An Affair to Remember” (1957) - McCarey’s tears
4. “The Graduate” (1967) - Nichols’ disruption
5. “Annie Hall” (1977) - Allen’s anti-romance
6. “When Harry Met Sally” (1989) - Reiner’s friendship
7. “Pretty Woman” (1990) - Marshall’s fairy tale
8. “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993) - Ephron’s fate
9. “The Notebook” (2004) - Cassavetes’ devotion
10. “Pride & Prejudice” (2005) - Wright’s Austen
11. “Atonement” (2007) - Wright’s regret
12. “500 Days of Summer” (2009) - Webb’s expectations
13. “Blue Valentine” (2010) - Cianfrance’s decay
14. “The Artist” (2011) - Hazanavicius’ silent love
15. “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012) - Russell’s damaged
16. “About Time” (2013) - Curtis’ time travel
17. “The Fault in Our Stars” (2014) - Boone’s illness
18. “Brooklyn” (2015) - Crowley’s immigration
19. “Carol” (2015) - Haynes’ longing
20. “Moonlight” (2016) - Jenkins’ tenderness
21. “The Big Sick” (2017) - Showalter’s coma
22. “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018) - Chu’s family

Love in All Its Forms

These films understand that romance isn’t always happy. Sometimes it’s choosing someone anyway. Sometimes it’s letting go. The best love stories make us feel both.

Browse our full romance collection for more recommendations.