Romantic movies are a great way to distract yourself during the coldest time of year.
Netflix has a wide variety of options to choose from. Which are the best? Here is a list of the best films of that genre available on this online platform.
The best romantic movies on Netflix
The films that we include in this list are all of the romantic genre, but they were chosen because they also include comedy, tragedy and tell interesting stories that will grab your attention.
This top 15 of the best Netflix romantic movies also includes a section with movies of this genre with a youth focus.
1. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
It is a classic love story based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gastón Leroux and the homonymous musical by Andrew L. Webber (1986).
This film is a musical set in 1870 that tells the story of a young soprano named Christine who becomes the object of obsession of a musician with a disfigured face, known as “the phantom of the opera.”
The two form a love triangle that completes Raoul, Christine’s friend, and love.
Director: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Gerard Butler.
Duration: 143 min.
2. Echo Park (2016)
This film analyzes love and family relationships and how they influence a person’s growth. It tells the story of Sophie, a young woman with doubts between two loves.
Uncomfortable experiences, the different faces of love, and personal problems set in the Echo Park area of the city of Los Angeles.
Director: Amanda Marsalis.
Cast: Mamie Gummer, Tony Okungbowa, Maurice Compte.
Duration: 88 min.
3. Chocolate (2000)
A charming French film that combines comedy with drama.
It is set in 1959 and tells the story of Vianne, a single mother who decides to open a chocolate shop in a very conservative little village in France.
Her indifferent attitude to Catholicism causes a stir in the conservative town, while she is related to Roux, another rejected by the community.
A beautiful story told with a lightness of spirit and a good performance by the cast earned this film two Oscar nominations.
Director: Lasse Hallström.
Cast: Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche.
Duration: 121 min.
4. I give it a year (2013)
It is a romantic comedy that begins with the marriage of Nat and Josh, a couple with few things in common. They begin to have problems and go to couples therapy, while all their friends doubt that they can save the relationship because they believe that they are not for each other.
It is an honest look at a marriage that is falling apart, but one that reflects a genuine desire to give yourself a chance to save the relationship.
Director: Dan Mazer.
Cast: Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall.
Duration: 97 min.
5. Meet the Patels (2015)
This film tells the story of Ravi, a young Indian-American, who is about to turn 30, who faces pressure to find a partner after ending a secret courtship that his parents would not approve of.
During his family’s annual trip to India, Ravi decides to consider an arranged marriage like his parents, following his family’s tradition.
Directors: Geeta V. Patel, Ravi V. Patel.
Cast: Ravi V. Patel.
Duration: 88 min.
6. Blue Jay (2016)
The film tells of the reunion of Jim, a contractor who travels to his hometown, with his old high school girlfriend. The two decide to hang out at the Blue Jay coffee shop to catch up on their lives and reflect on their past relationship.
The encounter takes them to places they never imagined and creates conflicts between the two, putting their already established lives at risk.
Director: Alex Lehmann.
Cast: Sarah Paulson, Mark Duplass.
Duration: 80 min.
7. The English Patient (1996)
Set at the end of the Second World War, the film shows Ralph, a patient affected by burns and bruises who is unable to remember his own name.
He is cared for by Hana, a French-Canadian nurse, in a makeshift hospital inside an Italian monastery. In this desperate scenario, they both begin to fall in love.
An excellent film, winner of 9 Oscars.
Director: Anthony Minghella.
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe.
Duration: 162 min.
8. Omar (2014)
Omar is a young Palestinian who must climb a security wall every day to visit his beloved girlfriend, Nadia. Although she is the sister of his best friend Tarek, he has no idea of the relationship they share.
Set in Palestine, the story tells how Omar, Tarek, and another friend hatch a plan to assassinate an Israeli guard. Omar is captured during the attack and the authorities offer him a deal: they will release him if he hands over his friend -and brother-in-law- Tarek.
Director: Hany Abu-Assad.
Cast: Adam Bakri, Leem Lubany, Eyad Hourani.
Duration: 98 min.
9. The life of Adéle (2013)
Adéle is a 15-year-old girl. She is shy and introverted, with an ordinary life until crossing the street, she meets a blue-haired girl named Emma. With her, he discovers love and complications in relationships.
A beautiful story that mixes wild eroticism with the complexity of a devastating love affair.
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche.
Cast: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Seydoux.
Duration: 179 min.
10. How to Lose a Man in 10 Days (2003)
Andie Anderson is a journalist working on the “How ..?” Section for Composture magazine, while Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive looking to move up at his company.
Benjamin makes a bet with his boss: if he manages to woo a woman in 10 days, he will be in charge of advertising a new diamond brand. Andie, for her part, decides to write an article on “How to lose a man in 10 days?” and do everything possible to repel a boy.
Their lives intersect, they choose each other for their experiments and they will begin to live strange and funny situations.
Director: Donald Petrie.
Cast: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey.
Duration: 116 min.
Best romantic youth movies on Netflix
The second part of this list of the best Netflix romantic movies has a selection of five films aimed at younger audiences, full of emotion, comedy, and romance.
1. Drinking buddies (2013)
Kate and Luke are two friends who work together making craft beer. They spend most of their time drinking and flirting. They are made for each other, but they have a problem: they are both in relationships with other people.
Everything gets complicated when the four of them decide to take a trip, but Luke and Kate are left alone.
Director: Joe Swanberg.
Cast: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick.
Duration: 90 min.
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Peter Bretter is an unsuccessful singer who seeks to achieve fame, but so far he is known only for being the boyfriend of Sarah Marshall, a renowned actress with whom he is madly in love.
When Sarah leaves him, Peter decides to travel to Hawaii to overcome the separation. His plan to improve is complicated when he finds Sarah in the same hotel, now in a relationship with a famous and eccentric rock star.
Director: Nicholas Stoller.
Cast: Mila Kunis, Jason Segel, Kristen Bell.
Duration: 111 min.
3. Amélie (2001)
Amélie is a charming young woman who finds happiness in little things. He leads a simple and common life until he finds a secret box hidden by a boy many years ago and decides to look for it to give it to him.
Seeing the happiness on the man’s face when he retrieved his box, Amélie decides to launch a campaign with the aim of making everyone around her happy.
While completing this mission, she falls in love with a boy and is faced with the dilemma of working to find her own happiness.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz.
Duration: 121 min.
4. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Andy is an introverted man who works in an electronics store. When his co-workers find out he’s still a virgin at 40, they do their best to help him meet a woman and lose his virginity.
When Andy meets Trish, an Amazon seller, he realizes that his true desire is to have a stable relationship and to know love.
His inexperience leads him to be desperate to have explore with any woman before he can be with Trish.
Director: Judd Apatow.
Cast: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd.
Duration: 116 min.
5. Love actually (2003)
This film shows the different ways of loving through various relationships, which take place in England during the Christmas season.
Love is seen from various stories: a prime minister who falls in love with a member of his staff, a man who is madly in love with his best friend’s wife, a shy young worker who dares to take the first step with a colleague, among other loves.
It’s a mix of stories that intersect in unexpected ways.
Director: Richard Curtis.
Cast: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy.
Duration: 136 min.
This playlist of the best Netflix romantic movies will keep you busy throughout the off-season. Tell us in the comments which of all these movies was your favorite and if you have any other recommendations to expand the list.
