February 14, Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day, is a time to celebrate love, friendship, and family.
Cinema offers romantic stories combined with other genres such as action, mystery, fantasy, adventure, or science fiction, including films with LGBTQ+ characters, which reflect the diversity of relationships and emotional bonds.
Below we offer a list of recommendations that covers a wide variety of tastes, so you can find your favorites for this February 14th.
Police Romances
Murder in Rochefort (France, 2019)
While enjoying a vacation, Captain Emma discovers a corpse in the forest.
She investigates the murder with gendarme Adrien, and feelings arise between them.
D.E.B.S. (USA, 2004)
(LGBTQ+) The central plot focuses on Amy Bradshaw, one of the best agents, who ends up falling in love with the thief she is supposed to capture, Lucy Diamond.
Decision to Leave (South Korea, 2022)
A detective investigating the mysterious death of a wealthy man falls in love with the prime suspect.
Miss Congeniality (USA, 2000)
An FBI agent goes undercover as a contestant in a beauty pageant to investigate a threat, while dealing with her transformation and a slight romantic story emerges.
Romance and Mystery
Charade (France, 1963)
A widow discovers that her murdered husband was not who he claimed to be.
Being pursued by dangerous men, she must rely on an agent with whom she falls in love.
Disobedience (United Kingdom/USA, 2017)
(LGBTQ+) A woman returns to her orthodox community and rekindles her relationship with a friend.
Double Lover (France, 2017)
Chloé and her psychoanalyst fall in love and stop working together to have what appears to be a perfect relationship, but not everything is as it seems.
Il Mare (South Korea, 2000)
Two people communicate through correspondence from the same beachfront house, but discover they live in it years apart.
This film inspired an American remake in 2006, under the name The Lake House.
Rear Window (USA, 1954)
A Hitchcock classic where suspense and romantic complicity come together.
Persona (South Korea, 2019)
(LGBTQ+) Two women grow emotionally closer during a retreat, facing dark pasts.
The Duke of Burgundy (United Kingdom, 2014)
(LGBTQ+) Two women explore their relationship in a setting of rituals and secrets.
The Handmaiden (South Korea, 2016)
(LGBTQ+) A young maid and her mistress develop a relationship amidst deception and family conflicts with tense action.
Romantic Fantasies
Just My Luck (USA, 2006)
A young woman with extraordinary luck kisses a man plagued by misfortune.
After that, their destinies are completely reversed.
Night Watch (Russia, 2004)
A guardian of supernatural forces falls in love while protecting the city from dark beings.
Penelope (United Kingdom/USA, 2006)
A woman lives under an ancient family curse that can only be broken by true love.
Superstition and destiny condition her love life until she decides to defy the prophecy.
Stardust (USA, 2007)
A young man travels through a magical world to retrieve his beloved's heart.
The Old Guard (USA, 2020)
(LGBTQ+) Immortal warriors develop relationships while fighting dangerous missions.
The Shape of Water (USA, 2017)
A woman falls in love with a sea creature while working in a secret laboratory.
City of Angels (USA, 1998)
An angel tasked with guiding souls falls in love with a surgeon and must choose between immortality or love.
Your Name (Japan, 2016)
Two teenagers swap bodies and fall in love between parallel worlds.
Romance, Action, and Adventure
Charlemagne's Code (Germany, 2008)
A retired archaeologist, after the loss of his wife, returns to the search for the Nibelung treasure and finds love.
The film has two sequels.
First Knight (USA, 1995)
The story focuses on Lancelot, living a passionate and forbidden love with Lady Guinevere amidst battles and honor in Camelot.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (USA, 1981)
An archaeology professor dedicates his free time to recovering historical relics and finds love.
The Indiana Jones saga combines action, adventure, and romance.
Sci-Fi Romances
Equals (USA, 2015)
In an emotionless society, two people discover love and live it in secret.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (USA, 2004)
The story follows Joel and Clementine, a broken couple who decide to erase their mutual memories through a scientific process.
The Space Between Us (USA, 2017)
A young man born on Mars travels to Earth and falls in love with a local girl.
Everyday Romances
Adventureland (USA, 2009)
A young man and a coworker experience a summer full of love and fun.
Amélie (France, 2001)
Amélie decides to transform the lives of those around her through small acts of anonymous kindness and, in the process, discovers love.
Blue Is the Warmest Color (France, 2013)
(LGBTQ+) Intense and passionate love between two young women.
Brooklyn (Ireland/United Kingdom/Canada, 2015)
A period romance, but centered on nostalgia, immigration, and forming a home.
Call Me by Your Name (USA/Italy, 2017)
(LGBTQ+) Teenage love in an Italian summer.
Carol (USA, 2015)
(LGBTQ+) Two women develop a forbidden relationship in 1950s New York.
When Harry Met Sally (USA, 1989)
Harry and Sally go from initial antipathy to a heartfelt 12-year friendship, which evolves into love even though they refuse to acknowledge it.
The Notebook (USA, 2004)
It tells the love story between Noah and Allie, young people from different social classes separated by destiny and war.
Doukyuusei (Japan, 2016)
(LGBTQ+) Hikaru discovers his model classmate, Rihito, practicing singing alone, offers to help him, and a deep connection emerges between them.
Bridget Jones's Diary (United Kingdom/USA/France 2001)
Daily romantic entanglements of a girl who finds herself romantically caught between her unfaithful boss and a serious lawyer.
Elisa & Marcela (Spain, 2019)
(LGBTQ+) Love between women defying social norms in the early 20th century.
Firebird (Estonia/Russia, 2021)
(LGBTQ+) Two soldiers develop a forbidden romance during the Cold War.
The Bridges of Madison County (USA, 1995)
It tells the brief romance between Francesca, a lonely housewife, and Robert Kincaid, a photographer.
Love, Simon (USA, 2018)
(LGBTQ+) A teenager confesses his sexual orientation on an anonymous page, starting to write to a classmate.
When his secret is threatened, he still wishes to know his identity.
Moonrise Kingdom (USA, 2012)
Set in 1965, it chronicles the escape of two 12-year-old children, Sam and Suzy, who fall in love, triggering a chaotic search.
Night Flight (South Korea, 2014)
(LGBTQ+) LGBTQ teenagers experience a summer of secrets, dangers, and self-discovery.
Notting Hill (USA, 1999)
It deals with the love that arises between a famous movie star and a common bookseller.
Her fame, the harassment of the press, misunderstandings, and his insecurities make the relationship difficult.
Runaway Bride (USA, 1999)
It's about Maggie, famous for leaving several fiancés at the altar, and a journalist who tries to discover why she does it.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France, 2019)
(LGBTQ+) Secret romance between painter and model in the 18th century.
Pretty Woman (USA, 1990)
A prostitute, due to various circumstances, ends up transforming into the companion of a millionaire bachelor who does not believe in love.
Stepmom (USA, 1998)
A girl falls in love with a divorced father for whom his children are his life.
The relationship with the ex-wife begins abruptly, but takes a turn after she learns she is ill.
The Big Sick (USA, 2017)
Kumail, a Pakistani comedian, falls in love with Emily, a young American woman.
Their relationship faces obstacles, cultural clash, family expectations, and racism.
The Half of It (USA, 2020)
(LGBTQ+) A teenager helps a classmate woo his crush while discovering her own feelings.
You've Got Mail (USA, 1998)
Two business rivals discover an anonymous email romance while dealing with their real-life enmity and learning to know each other beyond appearances.
Your Name Engraved Herein (Taiwan, 2020)
(LGBTQ+) Two young men face social pressure while experiencing their first teenage love.
10 Things I Hate About You (USA, 1999)
The plot follows Cameron trying to date Bianca, whose strict father only allows it if her antisocial sister, Kat, finds a partner.
And a horror extra
My Bloody Valentine
