Love stories usually blossom on the promise of forever. It’s our instinct not to consider it any other way. That’s why when a love story breaks this protocol, it sticks in our heads. And no matter how much we don’t want to accept it, it feels real. Too real.
This reality manifests in several ways. We outgrow people, we relocate elsewhere, we feel the need to choose ourselves, or a certain dream suddenly becomes too important, and we don’t see it fitting inside a shared future. We move on and move away, but the ache lingers.
In spite of its foundation based on dreams, cinema has always tackled this bitter reality: love surviving togetherness. Some people might call this a tragedy, but I don’t want to. Calling it a tragedy puts a gloomy, dark spell on everything beautiful that preceded it. Sounds unfair. I would call these stories beautiful portraits that aged into something deeper, more meaningful than possession.
The following seven films poignantly capture that ache, the kind that hurts you but doesn’t destroy you. The kind that keeps reminding us forever that love doesn’t need to last to be lasting.
7 Movies That Define Bittersweet Romance
1. Casablanca (1942) | Written by: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch | Directed by: Michael Curtiz
As World War II rages on, Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa’s (Ingrid Bergman) romance rekindles, but with a predicament. Ilsa is now married to Victor (Paul Henreid), a benevolent revolutionary who needs support to escape a Nazi trap. Rick and Ilsa can either help him escape or abandon him to pursue their romance. For Rick, being a decent human being, the choice is not really a choice. Rick sacrifices his love for the larger good, i.e., supporting Victor’s cause and ensuring Ilsa’s safety. By doing so, he proves that love doesn’t mean choosing what feels good, but choosing what’s right.
2. Roman Holiday (1953) | Written by: Dalton Trumbo and John Dighton | Directed by: William Wyler
The premise of Roman Holiday is a picture-perfect fairytale: a sheltered princess (Audrey Hepburn) and a cynical journalist (Gregory Peck) spend a stolen day together in Rome. For a while, it seems like this moment can grow into the future. But then reality strikes, and their duties call them back to their respective lives. This is the romance that lasts for a day but beats for a lifetime. It’s pretty ironic that their connection survives because it ends.
3. The Way We Were (1973) | Written by: Arthur Laurents | Directed by: Sydney Pollack
Katie (Barbra Streisand) and Hubbell (Robert Redford) are two opposite forces that collide across political and personal divides. She is fiery, driven, and very political, while he is charming, happy-go-lucky, and apolitical. Their romance thrives on passion but cannot survive under the weight of their differences. Their goodbye is as much a closure as it is a promise of continued love. That’s evident when they meet again, after many years. They still see the best in each other, yet quietly accept that this is as far as they can go. This is the story that says that sometimes caring deeply and letting go is the same thing.
4. Annie Hall (1977) | Written by: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman | Directed by: Woody Allen
Alvy (Woody Allen) and Annie’s (Diane Keaton) relationship emerges from shared proclivity for humor and eccentricity. They are both charming in their own ways, yet mismatched. Curiosity brings them together, and self-doubt pushes them apart. Though still painful, it feels more inevitable than dramatic. But their story cannot be dismissed so casually. Despite their romance fizzling out much less affectingly than the other romances we have seen so far, it’s their honesty and ingenuity that still make it timeless. They move away with memories and reconnect as friends; in a way, that makes it feel more real.
5. La La Land (2016) | Written and Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Shared dreams and ambitions bring Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) together, and when the same dreams and ambitions become too big for their shared space, they drift apart. They meet years later at a Jazz club. When their eyes meet, a single smile appears and carries the weight of an entire lifetime they didn’t live together. Their story, a product of priorities, may not be out-and-out tragic, but it’s still meaningful in its bittersweet imperfection.
6. Call Me By Your Name (2017) | Written by: James Ivory | Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
A sun-soaked summer in Italy becomes quite a revelation and awakening for Elio (Timothée Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer). It stirs up sexual, emotional, and spiritual feelings in them. Unfortunately, while they are still not through exploring (or even understanding) the true depth of what they share, destiny pulls them apart. Oliver has to go away, leaving Elio alone to reflect on the reverberating echo of their unrealized love. In the end, however, Oliver calls Elio to inform him that he is getting married to a girl, but also to tell him that he “remembers everything.” Elio quietly accepts this fate. This love is defined by growth, not longevity.
7. Past Lives (2023) | Written by: James Ivory | Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
After a short-lived romance in Seoul as 12-year-olds, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) reconnect 24 years later. Things have changed; they now live in different countries, have different goals, and they even speak different languages. They meet, but not to reignite their romance. They meet only to acknowledge it with tenderness. Their parting sentiment is that of quiet understanding that sometimes love doesn’t need to be fulfilled, it just needs to be seen and honored.
