Best Romantic Movies Of All Time

Love is usually present in cinema and fiction in general. This is not surprising if we consider how important it is to most people, although in many cases cinema has been accused of idealizing romantic relationships.

Below are the 25 best romantic movies we know, including independent films. We highly recommend them and hope you like them as much as we do.

• Best Love Songs Of All Times

25 romantic movies

Below we will briefly talk about 25 of the best films of all time where  love, relationships, and romance are the main topics. The movies don't follow any particular order, but all are worth watching.

This list consists of both some of the most successful classics in the history of cinema as well as independent films for everyone.

1. Casablanca (1942)

In this classic, Humphrey Bogart owns a bar in Morocco and helps a former lover, played by Ingrid Bergman, and her husband to flee the Nazis during World War II. One of the best-written romances in history, that left us famous quotes like "We'll always have Paris" and "Play it again, Sam."

2. La La Land (2016)

This six-award winning musical captivated the audience with its magnificent jazz-inspired soundtrack and the fidelity with which it portrays modern relationships, marked by an individualistic, demanding and constantly changing world.  Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling play an actress and a pianist who try to match their love and their dreams.

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

The French Michel Gondry directed one of the most creative and intelligent films about falling in love and falling out of love. Clementine, played by Kate Winslet, decides to erase her last relationship from her memory through a newly created treatment. Her ex, Joel (Jim Carrey), does the same when he finds out, but as his most recent memories disappear he relives the moments that made him fall in love with Clementine.

4. Roman Holiday (1953)

Audrey Hepburn's role as Princess Ann is one of the most well-known in classical cinema. Roman Holiday is a love story that happens in the Italian capital and masterfully develops the canons of romantic films.

5, 6 & 7. Days of Being Wild (1990), In the Mood for Love (2000) and 2046 (2004)

These three films by Chinese director Wong Kar-wai form a trilogy that talks about love, loneliness and routine throughout adult life. The most distinctive feature of Wong's work, a true poet filmmaker, is his attention to the aesthetics and harmony.

8. Manhattan (1979)

We could include many of Woody Allen's films in this list, but we chose Manhattan because it perfectly combines comedy and drama and because, in addition to being a romantic movie, it is a declaration of love by the New Yorker to his home district, which gave name to the film.

9. Chico and Rita (2010)

Chico and Rita is a beautiful adult animated romantic movie that tells the love story between a jazz pianist and a singer in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. The visual style of the drawings was devised by Javier Mariscal, known for being the creator of Cobi, the mascot of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

10. Her (2013)

This hit talks about Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), a depressive and introverted man who begins a relationship with Samantha, an artificial intelligence who is given voice by Scarlett Johansson. Her explores love at a time when technological advances dominate our life, including our relationships.

11. My Life Without Me (2003)

In this film by the Catalan Isabel Coixet, a young woman (Sarah Polley) discovers that she has an incurable terminal illness and has only a couple of months left to live. From then on, she devotes her last days to planning the life of her husband and daughters once she has passed away. When she reaches the end, she is only guided by her family love.

12. In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007)

In Search of a Midnight Kissfocuses on a New Year's Eve date, during which a relationship that could be one of love or friendship begins to flourish. The protagonists are a young girl and a boy who have met through a dating website.

13. Castaway on the Moon (2009)

In this Korean film,  a bankrupt executive tries to commit suicide by jumping into the Han River  and ends up isolated on an island 200 meters from Seoul. The romance with a girl who never leaves her room and sees him through the window gives new meaning to both their lives. At the same time, Castaway on the Moon is a lucid critique of the capitalist system.

14. Closer (2004)

The film stars Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Jude Law, and Julia Roberts. Closer talks about romance, desire and jealousy from the relationships between two couples. The plot is structured in a way reminiscent of theatre and demystifies the concept of love.

15, 16 & 17. Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013)

The Before Trilogy, by Richard Linklater, narrates the romance between a Frenchwoman and an American in three episodes that happen 10 years apart. Through these films, based almost exclusively on the dialogue between the two main characters, the director and screenwriter successfully explores the different stages of idealized romances.

18. Once (2007)

In the musical Once, the songs arise naturally from the autobiographical love story  between Glen Hansard, an Irish singer and composer, and Marketa Irglova, a Czech pianist. The 2011 documentary The Swell Season also described the end of their relationship and their band (which gives name to the title of the movie).

19. Limelight (1952)

Charles Chaplin's latest film is also the most autobiographical, tragic and nostalgic of his filmography. In Limelight, an alcoholic clown helps a young dancer succeed after preventing her from committing suicide and falling in love with her in the meantime, remembering everything he once dreamed of and slipped between his fingers.

20. (500) Days of Summer (2009)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel star in this romantic indie comedy. The film turns the usual 'boy meets girl' scheme around, focusing on a one-sided romance, and is full of references to alternative music and cinema.

21. Amour (2012)

Michael Haneke shows us love to its ultimate consequences through the story of an elderly marriage. After she has a heart attack, he looks after her and stays by her side in the progressive deterioration that inevitably leads to death. Amour is one of the toughest and most brutally honest films of recent years.

22. The Princess Bride (1987)

This story about heroic swordsmen, evil nobles, princesses, witches, giants and pirates is also the love story between a farmer and a groom. One of the most remembered 80s films for its charismatic characters and ingenious dialogues, such as the unforgettable "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

23. The Apartment (1960)

In The Apartment, Jack Lemmon plays an ordinary guy who falls in love with a co-worker (Shirley MacLaine), their boss' lover, who uses the protagonist's apartment to sleep with women. A bittersweet comedy that proves that idealization is not present in all classic romantic cinema.

24. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

This romantic comedy is  based on a  graphic novel and has the structure of a video game: to have a successful relationship with Ramona Flowers, the woman of his dreams, Scott Pilgrim must defeat in combat his seven evil exes, who have supernatural powers. A very funny and recommendable film for young people.

25. Same Love, Same Rain (1999)

The convulsive Argentina of the 80's frames this  love story and lack of lovebetween a writer and a waitress. Same Love, Same Rain was directed by Juan José Campanella, known by Son of the Bride and The Secret in Their Eyes.