Romance Movies

A high school senior and his English teacher fall deeply in love despite their better judgment in this taboo yet tender romantic drama. In a few months, Evan will turn 18 and graduate from high school. But when you're in love, a day can seem like an eternity, and Evan is deeply smitten with his beautiful teacher Mrs. Willis. When passions flare out of control and they both give in to their carnal instincts, Mrs. Willis attempts to distance herself from Evan for fear that she will lose her job and go to jail. But the harder Mrs. Willis pushes Evan away, the more convinced he becomes that the love they share is true. Now, unless they can keep their secret safe until Evan earns his diploma, the love that defines them, may ultimately destroy them. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Socially awkward bartender Twain finds him caught between the girl of his dreams and the one who accepts him despite all of his quirks in director Stephen Mack's independent drama. A talented pianist who refuses to play in public, Twain earns his paychecks by slinging drinks in a cheap restaurant. When he's not serving customers, he's usually behind the bar pining away for Layla, the gorgeous new waitress. And then, just when Twain starts to think that he'll never get a girlfriend, lovely music teacher Julie wanders into his life. Julie loves Twain, faults and all, even supporting him though the toughest of times. It's all going well until Layla starts showing an interest in Twain. With two girls now fighting for his affections, what's a nice guy like Twain supposed to do? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Commitment-phobic Manhattanite Lindsay (Estella Warren) realizes that she is teetering on the verge of a major epiphany when her psychiatrist leaves town for the entire month of August, and she's forced to take her therapy into her own hands. Immediately after rejecting a marriage proposal from her ideal mate, Lindsay finally begins to recognize the self-destructive cycles in her relationships, and prepares to work through them with her therapist. When Lindsay learns that her therapist has taken the entire month of August off work, and won't be able to speak with her until September, she attempts to find another analyst and discovers that the month long sabbatical has become the industry standard. Incensed at the thought of being left in the city without any guidance whatsoever, Lindsay and her pal Monica log on to "Craig's List" and organize a series of group therapy sessions with others who feel likewise abandoned by their therapists. It's during the course of those sessions that Lindsay meets AJ, whose best friend Max just happens to be pals with Monica's boyfriend Max. But while the chemistry between Lindsay and AJ is undeniable, the pair agrees to stave off sex for a month in order to get better acquainted. And their relationship is blossoming nicely until Lindsay's dream guy shows up looking for a second shot at love. Now Lindsay has a choice, and deciding which guy to spend the rest of her life with will be no simple task. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Alexandre Dumas fis first dramatized his own novel La Dame aux Camelias in 1852. Before the century was out, the work had been transformed by Giuseppe Verdi into the opera La Traviata; before the next century was out, the Dumas book had been made into no fewer than 25 films. The 1984 TV-movie adaptation, titled Camille like most of the others (including the first film, way back in 1907), stars Greta Schacchi as Marguerite, the popular Parisian courtesan who is wooed by innocent young Armand (Colin Firth). She is willing to give up her libertine lifestyle for Armand, but is gently convinced by the boy's father (John Gielgud) that such a union would be impossible. She renounces Armand, but he returns to her side, just as she is dying of consumption. Blanche Hanalis' adaptation of the Dumas novel takes a franker approach to the subject matter than the more familiar 1937 filmization with that other Greta (Garbo), and also manages to insert a soupcon of feminism. Filmed in Paris, the 1984 Camille was originally offered as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two teenagers find love and look for a place where they can be together in peace in this comedy drama from Australia. Samson (Rowan McNamara) is 15 years old and lives in a shabby town in the outback, where he huffs gasoline to get high, hangs out with his friends, and spends his days goofing off and getting into minor trouble. One day, Samson meets Delilah (Marissa Gibson) at the village market, a girl who follows a different path in life -- she looks after her elderly grandmother (Mitjili Gibson), and helps her create paintings that they sell to tourists to support themselves. While Delilah doesn't have much to say to Samson at first, he's immediately taken with her and shows his affection with a graffiti painting. While she's not willing to admit it at first, Delilah has feelings for him as well, and when her grandmother encourages her to follow her heart, the two begin dating. But life is difficult on the outback, and when they both become victims of violence, Samson and Delilah hit the road and begin looking for a town where they can lead a better life. The first feature film from writer and director Warwick Thornton, Samson & Delilah was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the "Un Certain Regard" program. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A case of mistaken identity leads to a rivalry that humorously ponders the issue of mind vs. body in this gay-themed romantic comedy. Blaine (Nicholas Downs) is a talented young writer whose career is on the rise. Blaine has just moved to Los Angeles, and while he's good looking, in a city full of Grade A hunks he feels a bit inadequate, and the fact he's looking for a serious relationship rather than a quick hook-up is making things all the more difficult. While browsing an internet chat room, Blaine crosses virtual paths with Xander (David Loren), a handsome young musician, and after a phone call Blaine thinks he's finally found the perfect man. However, Blaine soon realizes that while Xander was talking to him on the phone, the picture he saw online was Blaine's very buff flatmate Cameron (Adam Huss). Not wanting to disappoint Xander, Blaine persuades Cameron to go on a date pretending to be him, but while Blaine is a romantic and a deep thinker, Cameron likes partying and one night stands. Can Cameron persuade Xander he's Blaine? Does he really want to? And is Xander really looking for sex or substance? Is It Just Me? received its world premiere at the 2010 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A young man aggressively seeks an escape from his restrictive life -- and finds one in a unique girlfriend -- in this tense romantic thriller from Mexico. As the wealthy, handsome, and intelligent heir to Vizcaino, Inc. -- a banking conglomerate launched by his high-rolling father Ricardo (Sergio Jurado) -- Alejandro Vizcaino (Jose Maria de Tavira) appears to have everything he could want or need. But in truth, Ricardo is thoroughly corrupt and rotten, and controls every single aspect of Alejandro's life and world -- from how he dresses, to what he eats, to who he will marry. Alejandro grows so suffocated from this treatment, and so desperate, that his need to escape propels him into a dangerous drag racing feat, and causes an extreme accident. Shaken but physically unharmed, Alejandro rejects his life in one sudden and swift maneuver by fleeing town. He ends up in an impoverished beachside community, popular among locals for its surfing, and his eyes soon fall on Rosa (Martina Garcia), the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on. By Ricardo's standards, Rosa falls well below Alejandro's social class, but Alejandro doesn't care; he seeks Rosa out and the two fall madly in love with one another. Unfortunately, Rosa lives under the oppressive thumb of a local gangster, El Tigre (Alberto Estrella), which means that Alejandro will be putting his life on the line if he attempts to abscond with his new paramour. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Devastated by the discovery of her husband's unfaithfulness, homemaker Julia (Linda Hamilton) abandons her affluent lifestyle for a small apartment and a minimum-wage job. Despite hardship, Julia rebuilds her existence, and through doing so discovers what is most valuable in life are not material things. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Beauty and the Beast is widely considered the best animated Disney feature of the studio's 1980s/1990s renewal of the form. Based on the classic French fairy tale, it tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent young woman scorned by her townspeople for being a bookworm, weary of fighting off the advances of the arrogant Gaston (Richard White), and dreaming of escape. When her father gets lost in the woods and captured by the forbidding Beast (Robby Benson), a once-handsome prince turned into a monster by a witch, Belle goes off to rescue him. Taken with her, the Beast agrees to release Belle's father if she agrees to stay with him forever. Initially repulsed, Belle soon finds much to appreciate in the Beast's hidden, tender nature. The Beast's servants -- a clock (David Ogden Stiers), a teapot (Angela Lansbury), and a candlestick (Jerry Orbach) -- see Belle as their salvation: if the Beast and a woman fall in love before his 21st birthday, he will be free from the curse. The songs are first-class, the tale is told with sincerity but not sentimentality, and the characters of Belle and the Beast, complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story, are more three-dimensional than in most live-action movies. The eye-popping animation is beautifully rendered, and Beauty and the Beast certainly deserves its place amongst Disney's animated classics. In 2002, a special 89-minute edition of the film was released in IMAX theaters with the addition of a newly animated song, ""Human Again."" ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

An American girl discovers a love letter that changes her life in this romantic comedy starring Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave. The setting is Verona, Italy -- the city where Romeo and Juliet first met. In Verona, there's a wall where the lovelorn leave notes, hoping that Juliet will answer their inquiries about love. Sophie (Seyfried) is part of a team of volunteers who respond to the letters. When Sophie answers a letter from 1957, the woman who wrote it (Redgrave) decides to seek out the one that got away, and romance starts to blossom all around. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Many cineastes consider Pandora and the Flying Dutchman as the masterpiece of filmmaker Albert Lewin, while others write the film off as a pretentious bore. Ava Gardner stars as Pandora Reynolds, a predatory creature who destroys the lives of all men who've been unfortunate enough to fall in love with her. Enter Hendrick van der Zee (James Mason), a mystical figure who proves to be Pandora's match. It turns out that van der Zee is the legendary 17th Flying Dutchman, whose spirit is doomed to wander the earth until he is able to find a woman willing to love him with all her heart -- and thereby sacrifice her own life. Further elaboration would spoil the film for potential Lewin enthusiasts. Suffice it to say that the director's many cinematic obsessions (cat figurines, Egyptology, obscure literary allusions) are exercised to their fullest potential. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A teenage girl sets out on a cross country trip to visit her uncle in the Midwest, discovering that she has what it takes to be a true competitor after she's tricked into participating in a local horse race. All Lindsey knows about her Uncle Jack is that he lives on a ranch, and he's haunted by a past tragedy he never speaks of. Upon arriving at the ranch, Lindsey reconnects with her uncle and falls for handsome ranch hand Logan. But her greatest challenge is yet to come, because despite the fact that Lindsey has virtually no riding experience, she's hoodwinked into racing spoiled rotten Abigail at the upcoming county fair. Sometimes the trips we least want to take are the ones that can teach us the most about who we really are. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A man who has finally found the love he's been looking for discovers happiness doesn't always last in this independent drama. Ricky (Lu Yulai) leaves his home in Beijing to start a new life in Hong Kong, but the transition is rough; he has trouble getting work and has to live with his aunt (Wella Zhang), an abusive woman who makes her living as a prostitute. One evening, Ricky is wandering the streets when he meets Pascal (Bernhard Bulling), a Swiss expatriate who works as a street performer and is struck in a combative relationship with a petty criminal. Ricky and Pascal discover they have a lot in common, and soon they've fallen in love and are sharing an apartment. However, Ricky is shattered when Pascal unexpectedly dies, and as he tries to make sense of his loss, he travels to Switzerland and meets a man named Ueli (als played by Bernhard Bulling) who is a dead ringer for Pascal. The first feature film from director Kit Hung, Soundless Wind Chime was an official selection at the 2009 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi