50 Best Romance Movies of the past decade (2001-2010)

"Amélie still seeks solitude. She amuses herself with silly questions about the world below, such as "How many people are having an orgasm right now?"
Amélie: Fifteen. "

A delicate, delicious little French trifle, Amélie is easily the most romantic film on this list. The adorable Audrey Tautou launched herself into the American consciousness as the quirky do-gooder waitress who sends her secret crush photos and riddles masking her identity in order to make their first encounter, and first kiss, the most romantic moment of her life. Amelie is a film soaked in romance. Every frame of this gorgeously photographed film, tinted in hues of red, resembles a magical version of Paris – something that director Jean-Pierre Jeunet intended. At the center of this imaginative film is young Amelie, a lonely 20-something Parisian waitress with a vivid imagination who decides to bring happiness to people by helping them. One day, she picks up a photo album lost by a mysterious Young stranger leading her to embark on her greatest quest – something that brings love and happiness to her door. Whimsical, quirky and romantic, Endlessly imaginative and beautifully photographed, Amélie is a film to be treasured

"You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?"

John Cusack, what more do I need to say? Serendipity (noun) - the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; a natural gift for making useful discoveries by accident. This is a wonderful gift of a Divine accident. or as Sarah xplains "It's such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident. "

A young man and a drop dead gorgeous woman keep meeting by chance and wonder if they are meant for each other. Although both are promised to others...oddly enough they still feel that their soul mate is out there somewhere. A little sappy in some places, but viva la love. Being a romantic I am almost obligated to be riveted. My favorite scene is where Cusack is on the ground and snow starts falling. The finale is almost too sweet, but most deserving. Many crazy moments in this movie about the crazy love and the fantasy make the movie more exciting.

"When it comes to love, sometimes she just can't think straight. "

Jessica Stein is a single, straight, successful, journalist, part of a bonded Jewish family living in New York City, who finds herself not as straight as she thought when Jessica meets and begins an intense friendship with career woman Helen Cooper which ultimately leads to romance. "Kissing Jessica Stein" is a romantic comedy about a girl who basically just doesn't know what she wants, but its better than that statement. The film is very well written and very funny. The relationships explored are real and three-dimensional and every element that moves the story forward is done with subtlety and humour.

"What we do does not define who we are. What defines us is how well we rise after falling."

Marisa Ventura is a struggling single mom who works at a posh Manhattan hotel and dreams of a better life for her and her young son. One fateful day hotel guest and senatorial candidate Christopher Marshall meets Marisa and mistakes her for a wealthy socialite. After an enchanting evening together the two fall madly in love. But when Marisa's true identity is revealed issues of class and social status threaten to separate them. Can two people from very different worlds overcome their differences and live happily ever after? Two people falling in love is always a nice thing and seeing how they cross boundary's for that love is even nicer. There's one line that particularly caught my fancy, when her son asks Marisa if she thinks Marshall will miss them. `He's crazy not to', she replies, a nice blend of confidence, sweetness and honesty

"The past will connect them. The passion will possess them."

A pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell. Roland Michell is an Americian trying to make it in the difficult world of British Academics. He has yet to break out from under his mentor's shadow until he finds a pair of love letters in the textbook that once belonged to one of his idols, a famous long dead Victorian poet. Michell, after some sleuthing around, narrows down the suspects to a woman not his wife, another well known Victorian poet. Roland enlists the aid of a Dr. Maud Bailey, an expert on the life of the woman in question. Together they piece together the story of a forbidden love affair, and discover one of their own.

"Before you came into my life I could make all kinds of decisions now I'm addicted I have to know what you think."

If you are looking for a cute romantic movie, you can never go wrong with Hugh Grant, who is teamed in this one with Sandra Bullock as an environmental lawyer who becomes Grant's legal eagle and mommy. Yes, she gets more than she bargains for and finally gives notice - hence, the title. In typical Grant style, he spends the rest of the movie trying to get her back. Sure, his movies follow the same formula, but they are just fun to watch. The script is funny and fast paced and both are handed good comedy material to sink their teeth into. Hugh Grant is surrounded by beautiful women throughout the film giving him the opportunity to work his English charm school act, and with another sexy secretary in the picture, Bullock is given her opportunity to spar in her own inimitable way.

"Find out who you are, and do it on purpose."

Landon Carter, the most popular guy in school, gets into some trouble, and as punishment his principal makes him tutor a younger student, and be in the school's spring play. Jamie Sullivan is considered an outcast in school and is also in the school play. One day Landon realizes that he's in over his head and ends up asking Jamie for help. Soon Landon unexpectedly finds himself falling in love with Jamie. A love story about two North Carolina teens who are completely different but made the most beautiful romantic move in this movie. You must feel and enjoy each and every dialogue and line of this movie. Landon Carter was just like a normal teen who loves fun and care-free life until he met Jamie Sullivan. She completely changed his life and the last part of the movie when Landon started loving her and taking care of every single moment of Jamie is really an element to feel. A trustworthy, touching story that you won’t forget ater you’ve seen it. Well written and absolutely worth being watched.

"The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you."

A movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected newlywed meet up as strangers in Tokyo, Japan and form an unlikely bond. One of the best movies ever made about loneliness, “Lost in Translation” is about two completely different Americans who meet at a hotel in Tokyo and bond through their shared disappointments with life. It certainly is not your typical romantic comedy, most notably because the relationship between Bob and Charlotte is not so much about love as it is about truly understanding where the other is coming from. They are both stranded far from home, Bob filming commercials and Charlotte's husband off at different photo shoots, and when they meet they find a connection that they can't find anywhere else in Tokyo. I will admit that the film isn't for everyone. But for those who get it, it’s an unforgettably rich experience. It also has one of the beautiful endings of any film released this decade.

What is it about love that makes us so stupid?"

While on vacation, a just-divorced writer buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim, hoping it will be the start of a change for the better in her life. After Frances's seemingly happy San Francisco marriage ends abruptly, she goes into a funk. Urged by her friends to move on, she joins a bus tour of Tuscany where, on the spur of the moment, she buys a crumbling villa. She assembles a crew of oddballs and immigrants to repair the house; over the next year, as they work, she welcomes one of her New York friends who's pregnant and at loose ends, and she seeks love, first (tenuously) with her married real estate agent, then with a charming stranger. Although life gets in the way of love, Frances's wishes come true in unexpected ways, and there's always the Tuscan sun. This is a film for adults, for people who can understand pain and the search for recovery and understand the difficulty of coming back from a space that once
offered the mirage of safety and security.

"You were, for me, that night - Everything I always dreamt of in life."

Amazingly effective in its simplicity. Two people meet on a train and spend a romantic night together in Vienna—talking, walking, philosophizing and falling in love. Ten years later they meet again by happenstance. That's the premise for Richard Linklater's Before Sunset, a lovely tone poem that stands as a bookend to 1994's Before Sunrise. It didn’t seem likely or possible that Richard Linklater could strike gold twice but this sequel is every bit as worthwhile as the original. Actors Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have a tremendous rapport together, and imbue their characters with just the right mix of cynicism and hurt, but also passion and longing. This is a very intellectually stimulating romance film that takes place in real time. It’s essentially just two people having a conversation from start to finish as they walk about in beautiful Paris. If you haven’t seen this film, make sure you watch it coupled with “Before Sunrise.”

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! / The world forgetting, by the world forgot / Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! / Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd. "

Would you erase the memory of a past relationship if you had your heart broken? Based on an absurd premise but grounded in real emotion, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is about a man who wishes to erase his ex-girlfriend from his memory after he finds out she erased him first. Life isn't always that easy, as Joel discovers: as he's erasing Clementine from his memory, he's also erasing some of the best parts of his life. Joel starts to fight the memory erasing in a desperate effort to protect what he's discovered he loves most about life .... Clementine. A beautifully structured film, which has
the story going both backwards and forwards, that always reminds us how precious our memories truly are. Jim Carry breaks free of his traditional role, and goes ultra-unfunny. And he does this brilliantly. Winslet and Carrey’s career-best performances make the characters magnetic and you pray that they get together at the film’s end. Not only is this the best romance this decade, it's also one of the best films of the decade. Laughs, heartache, suspense follow in this smart, warm unique rom-com. If you take a moment and really open your mind, the brilliance of this film will definitely shine through.

To me, you are perfect"

If any movie is totally about love this one is it. Love Actually captures the lives of 8 couples in the weeks before Christmas in London. It beautifully weaves multiple stories of blossoming love during the Holiday season using a first-rate all-star cast. This holiday film is laced with all different stories of love: puppy love, lost love, unrequited love, and great big declarations of feelings. The most romantic scene (for us) is perhaps also the most heartbreaking. Mark (Andrew Lincoln), long smitten with his best friend's girl (Keira Knightley), appears at her door with a series of hand written posters expressing what he's always wanted to say: "To me, you are perfect." He gets us every time. You’d have to be a curmudgeon to dislike “Love Actually,” one of the most entertaining and romantic holiday-movies ever.

"I like to think about the life of wine. How it's a living thing..."

Sideways is a pretty great buddy comedy (featuring a hilariously brazen performance from Thomas Haden Church), but it's an even better romantic comedy. At its heart is the tender relationship between Miles and Maya, two bruised divorcees who forge a tenuous connection to each other. There is a scene in “Sideways” where Miles, played by Paul Giamatti in the best performance of his career, describes the delicate nature and the virtues of the Pinot Noir grape. If you listen closely, it’s not hard to see parallels between the character and the grape he’s describing. Soon, you realize that he’s more or less describing himself. You know your hearing expressions of love as poetic and beautifully rendered as anything else in the movies in well over a decade. From both of their beautiful speeches expressing their love of Pinot Noir to the wonderfully poignant open-ended knock at the door, their romance is note-perfect. This quirky off-beat and sometimes very funny movie remains a delight. It’s hard for me to not think of the film’s simple but heart-warming final scene. Movie-making at its finest!

"When something happens to you that hasn't happened before, don't you at least have to find out what it is? "

Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are wonderful together playing complete opposites, who despite his desire to skirt-chase substantially younger women and her desire to remain single as relationships are far too complicated, end up having a romantic interlude. They clash, offend and even scare one another until "something gives." This is the exception to the general rule that loves stories have to concern people thirty and under. Keaton and Jack play the couple who are at the heart of this story and make the movie a wonderful winner. Both of these award-winning actors are in top form and the story is tailor made for their talents. Something's Gotta Give is a great film about grown-ups finding romance, and in a day and age where society is so youth-obsessed, this film is welcomed for those who are not.

"It wasn't over – it still isn't over"

A man tells the story of a young couple who struggle through the times as rich daughter and a poor mill worker some 50 or 60 years ago. Two people from different walks of life who meet at a carnival in the 1940s and spend the next bulk of years fighting for love or hiding from it. The story of this couple is relayed back from an elderly man to an old lady in a nursing home via a notebook. As the young couple Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are magnetic while screen legends James Garner and Gena Rowlands areheartbreaking as the older couple. Just try not to cry while watching this flick based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. It's a tearjerker for sure, but there's an underlying sentimentality that rings true. What really does us in is the juxtaposition of Noah and Allie's story of young love set against the modern reality of Allie's deteriorating health. This film has all the elements of a great romance. The angst, crazy young love, lost love, found love and true love in old age. It's a film that truly reinvigorates ones belief that love is worth living for and dying for.

"I wish I knew how to quit you"

The most romantic movies are about the subtle gestures, the moments in between intimacy, and Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain captures them against a vibrant Alberta landscape. Set in the 1960s, Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) are sheep herders who spend months of the year living in isolation atop the rugged Brokeback Mountain. When they develop feelings for each other, it's something neither of them can ignore and each will spend decades torn between what society expects from them and their passion for each other. Only an ignorant person would label Brokeback Mountain as the “gay-cowboy movie.” With its universal themes of love and loss, you could say the film is just like any romance epic but it’s the execution and the unbelievably moving performances that make it one of the most beautiful and powerful romantic films of the decade. Featuring a career-best performance from Heath Ledger and Oscar-winning direction from Ang LeeBrokeback is a film for everyone - gay, straight or bisexual. It deserved to be called ground-breaking.

"I want you to get into the deep beautiful melancholy of everything that's happened. "

A very funny movie but also very sad. After causing a loss of almost one billion dollars in his company, the shoe designer Drew Baylor decides to commit suicide. However, in the exact moment of his act of despair, he receives a phone call from his sister telling him that his beloved father had just died in Elizabethtown, and he should bring him back since his mother had problem with the relatives of his father. He travels in an empty red eye flight and meets the attendant Claire Colburn, who changes his view and perspective of life. This "life journey" movie was filled with moments we can all relate to and understand. Cameron Crowe has created a quirky, funny, sad, happy movie that made a couple of turns I did not expect. The road trip at the end was so familiar and brought back enough memories to leave me wanting more.

"You think if you could ever really touch me, I might wake up from all of this."

A lonely landscape architect falls for the spirit of beautiful woman who used to live in his new apartment. Elizabeth Masterson, a dedicated doctor in San Francisco, had almost no time for anything. When her sister with two kids set her up on a date, she gets into a tragic car crash and falls into a coma. Meanwhile, an artist named David Abbott moves into San Francisco and coincidentally, into Elizabeth's apartment for rent. While at the apartment, Elizabeth's spirit haunts him. She doesn't remember who she is, who her family is, and what she did - All that she remembered was her apartment and where everything was. To settle the arguments, David agrees to figure out who Elizabeth really is. When they get close to figuring out who she is, they eventually find love in each other and as they finally know who she really is, they learn that fate really has put them both together. The movie is sweet, it has a fairy-tale feel, which is comforting in an uncertain world. The chemistry between Reese and Mark is amazing and the story is unusual and entertaining. The plot is fairly predictable, but the audience is thrown a few curve balls. There is uncanny humor, yet the movie maintains a poignant sense of reality.

"I want to be in love. I want to wake up next to someone and see them smile, do the whole Sunday breakfast thing, go out and get the paper, stay in bed together all day."

The film centers around a kindergarten teacher named Sarah Nolan, a divorcée who swears off men after a devastating divorce. However, her close-knit Irish-American family decides to 'help' her along by signing her up for a number of online dating sites. After some hilariously painful dates, Sarah meets Jake Anderson and instead of love at first sight, it's an awkward fright. The awkward but hilarious moments keep coming as they give love and each other a second chance. She finds herself caught between two men, as she starts seeing the father of one her students. Diane Lane was real, vulnerable and more beautiful than ever. The chemistry between her and John Cusack was truly believable. Although the story line is slightly predictable the dialog sparkles. And the dogs, needless to say, are Oscar worthy. You don't have to love dogs to love this movie. An exceptionally funny and entertaining comedy that has so much heart and soul that it is very easy to watch and get enjoyment from.

"Believe me. Men are either eaten up with arrogance or stupidity. If they are amiable, they are so easily led they have no minds of their own whatsoever. "

Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennett meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice? There have been countless adaptations of Jane Austen’s classic book. Once again the fantastic romantic world of Jane Austen again makes its way to the silver screen. This adaptation is a brilliant achievement that keeps you actively involved from the first scene to the very last scene, just about consuming you with aching romance – and it is sprinkled with humour and intelligence. Austen's famous wit, satire & humour forms the basis for her enduring appeal. Donald Sutherland's touching performance as Mr Bennet - capturing both the humour of living in an all female household & five daughters to look after with the poignancy of seeing his eldest children's difficult relationships develop - easily his best acting performance in years. Macfadyen perfectly displays Darcy's social & class problems, his unfortunate attempts at gaining Eliabeth Bennet's interest & his painful adjustments to achieve their personallove story. Macfayden & Knightley's objectionable first dance, their embarrassingly moving Collins House meeting, the unexpected Pemberley encounter plus their two proposal scenes are highlights of this film. it ultimately completely captured the characters, their transformations, their strengths, their vulnerabilities and their passions. You simply do not want it to end.

How is it possible, he thinks, to miss a woman whom he kept at a distance so that when she was gone he would not miss her."

A film about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man. A young 20-something woman, Mirabelle, works selling gloves at Saks Fifth Avenue in L.A. She spends most of her day behind the counter with not much to do and at night she goes home alone to her apartment in Silverlake, with only her cat to keep her company. She dreams of being an artist and of a man who will one day sweep her off her feet and awaken her drab and lifeless existence. She has two men in her life: wealthy divorcée Ray Porter and struggling musician Jeremy. Mirabelle falls in love with the glamorous Ray, and her life takes a magical turn, but eventually she realizes that she must empower herself and make a choice between them. This film took an interesting perspective on the May/December romance, through the eyes of a female protagonist. It said a lot about what men and women expect from relationships, and how love can be heartbreaking and painful, yet wonderful and beautiful at the same time. It is also about a woman discovering more about life, love, and most of all, herself.

"As I hope this essay shows, your acceptance, while it would thrill me, will not define me. My identity rests firmly and happily on one fact: I am my mother's daughter"

John Clasky is a devoted dad whose skills as a chef have offered his family a very upscale life, including a summer home in Malibu and a breathtaking new Mexican housekeeper, named Flor. She and her daughter Cristina have recently emigrated to L.A. from Mexico and are trying to find a better life. When they move in with the Claskys for the summer, Flor has to fight for her daughter's soul as she discovers that life in a new country is perilous! It's a comedy with enough serious moments to give a person time to pause and think. Amidst the well written comedy scenes, there are many life-impacting conversations. If you pay attention to this movie, I think you will learn something about yourself, about cultural differences, about responsibility....All while having a good time and a few laughs. The characters are relatable, not so much as the commonness of their ways, because they are very quirky almost to the extreme, but because there is a part of every person in each of them, or at least a part to strives to be. The language barrier just highlights the dialogue, as one watching tries to hear it from foreign ears and yet understands movements and emotions better than what is said.

"Forgive my lips. They find joy in the most unusual places."

It's premise is similar to Under the Tuscan Sun. Despite the similarities, managed to create something new and different, mostly thanks to it's rich plot, vivid characters and breathtaking landscape, that build up an enchanting European atmosphere that allows you to wander off to France. Maximillian Skinner is a young and bright manager in the British stock market who has low morals which bring him high financial results. He's cocky and arrogant, and his life is about to change dramatically. This occurs when he finds out his Uncle Henry has passed away and left him his vineyard in Provence, France. Skinner immediately realizes the financial value of the
property and boards the first plane to the colorful valley. Arriving there, he is filled with childhood memories through which we see Henry teaching his young oprhan nephew Max the values of life. He meets and falls for a local French woman and starts unveiling the secrets of the vineyard. As he becomes more and more adjusted to his past. He doesn't change, he opens his heart and mind to qualities that he has been ignoring within himself. You can see that other Max from the moment he opens the letter telling him Henry is dead - but he tries to resist the feelings that are clearly there, in large part because he doesn't want to face the fact that he has let his Uncle down - and all of the guilt that is allied with that. The landscapes, the Provence feeling, the interesting women, makes you fly between the clouds and wonder: "what if I leave my job right now and start living the real life?". It is a movie about feelings, enjoying life, and finding yourself.

"Everyone promises you happily ever after... but life turns into a different kind of fairy tale."

A newlywed bride becomes infatuated with another woman, who then questions her sexual orientation, promoting a stir among the bride's family and friends. Rachel and Heck, long time friends and lovers, finally tie the knot, and during the celebration, Rachel locks eyes with their florist - for only a split second, but that second changes everything. She starts a friendship with the florist, Luce. And while Rachel originally intended to match her new friend up with her husband's friend, Cooper, she soon finds out that Luce is a lesbian. During the course of their friendship, Rachel starts to question her own sexuality. And though she comes to realize she
may have feelings for her new friend, Rachel must decide who she will ultimately find the most happiness with: Heck, her new husband who is also adored by her family, or Luce, who has turned her life and everything she thought she new about love upside down. Very entertaining and delightful, the acting is excellent and the lead actresses are completely captivating. With all the sexual tension, sexual chemistry, and positive presentation, you will fall in love with the actresses. You will thrill to their budding love and consummation of that love. This movie may haunt you, you may even want to see it again and again.

"One man I can never meet. To him, I would like to give my whole heart."

A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. Living two years apart in the same house, they must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late. As they correspond back and forth, creating an intimate relationship through words, they discover they have a connection that bridges the two year gap. When two people "connect" the bond between them can be so pure and simple as to stir hearts in heaven. When they connect in all the right places at all the wrong times, heaven weeps for broken hearts. To heal these broken hearts, heaven breaks time. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing and enough closeups to satisfy all. Christopher Plummer was an interesting supporting actor and as always commanded the screen. There were a lot of interesting supporting characters, there was Jack the dog, and of course the Lakehouse and the mailbox. This was great popcorn fare with your significant other! Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves are once again a great on screen couple, even though weren't often on screen together. Don't get too caught up in the plausibility aspect just enjoy it as a romantic fantasy, we all need some escape now and then. This is a really great film, and well worth multiple viewings.