Best Romance Movies 2023

It’s rare for a debut director to knock it out of the park with their first film, but Celine Song did exactly that with Past Lives, a powerful, understated “what if” romance that not only served as a calling card for Song but also for its star, Greta Lee, and sits atop our list of Best Romance Movies.

#1

Past Lives (2023)
95%

#1

Adjusted Score: 111569%

Critics Consensus: A remarkable debut for writer-director Celine Song, Past Lives uses the bonds between its sensitively sketched central characters to support trenchant observations on the human condition.

Synopsis: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Two... [More]

Starring: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro, Seung-ah Moon

Directed By: Celine Song

#2

Fallen Leaves (2023)
98%

#2

Adjusted Score: 106332%

Critics Consensus: A quirky tale of star-crossed lovers, Fallen Leaves is a life-affirming gem from Finnish filmmaker Kaurismäki.

Synopsis: In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a local karaoke bar. However, the... [More]

Starring: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Alina Tomnikov

Directed By: Aki Kaurismäki

#3

Passages (2023)
95%

#3

Adjusted Score: 104484%

Critics Consensus: Elevated by a remarkable Franz Rogowski performance, Passages adds another smart, deeply humanistic film to director/co-writer Ira Sachs' estimable filmography.

Synopsis: Celebrated filmmaker Ira Sachs (Love is Strange) makes a breathtaking return with PASSAGES, a fresh, honest and brutally funny take... [More]

Starring: Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Erwan Kepoa Falé

Directed By: Ira Sachs

#4

Joyland (2022)
98%

#4

Adjusted Score: 101947%

Critics Consensus: With stunning honesty that's achingly bittersweet, Joyland tackles gender and sexual fluidity in a repressed patriarchal society with wisps of hopefulness.

Synopsis: The Ranas--a happily patriarchal joint family--yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line. Their youngest... [More]

Starring: Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani

Directed By: Saim Sadiq

#5

All of Us Strangers (2023)
97%

#5

Adjusted Score: 110861%

Critics Consensus: All of Us Strangers examines profound grief and love through a fantastical lens that is always grounded on human emotion.

Synopsis: One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with a mysterious... [More]

Starring: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, Claire Foy

Directed By: Andrew Haigh

#6

The Blue Caftan (2022)
96%

#6

Adjusted Score: 98106%

Critics Consensus: A love story shaped by some surprising contours, The Blue Caftan surveys the hidden heart with compassion and grace.

Synopsis: Halim and Mina run a traditional caftan store in one of Morocco's oldest medinas. In order to keep up with... [More]

Starring: Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Messioui

Directed By: Maryam Touzani

#7

Maestro (2023)
79%

#7

Adjusted Score: 96836%

Critics Consensus: Led by a pair of powerful performances, Maestro serves as a stirring overview of a tremendous talent's life and legacy.

Synopsis: Maestro is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein.... [More]

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke

Directed By: Bradley Cooper

#8

Falcon Lake (2022)
94%

#8

Adjusted Score: 95874%

Critics Consensus: Moody, sensitive, and subtly layered, Falcon Lake captures the intoxicating horror of young love.

Synopsis: A shy teenager on a summer vacation experiences the joy and pain of young adulthood when he forges an unlikely... [More]

Starring: Joseph Engel, Sara Montpetit, Monia Chokri, Arthur Igual

Directed By: Charlotte Le Bon

#9

Emily (2022)
88%

#9

Adjusted Score: 94528%

Critics Consensus: With a bracingly irreverent approach to its story and Emma Mackey bringing Brontë vibrantly to life, Emily is a biopic that manages to feel true while taking entertaining creative liberties.

Synopsis: EMILY imagines Emily Brontë’s own Gothic story that inspired her seminal novel, "Wuthering Heights." Haunted by the death of her... [More]

Starring: Emma Mackey, Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Alexandra Dowling

Directed By: Frances O'Connor

#10

You Can Live Forever (2022)
90%

#10

Adjusted Score: 91412%

Critics Consensus: Narratively subtle and beautifully acted, You Can Live Forever finds soulful drama at the intersection of sexual orientation and religious faith.

Synopsis: In the early '90s, gay teen Jaime is sent to live with her devout Jehovah’s Witness relatives after the death... [More]

Starring: Anwen O'Driscoll, June Laporte, Jennifer Laporte, Liane Balaban

Directed By: Sarah Watts, Mark Slutsky