72 articles
5x2
5x2 (Five Times Two) is a 2004 French drama by François Ozon, starring Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss, telling a couple's marriage in reverse across five episodes from divorce to first meeting; Venice Best Actress winner.
A Single Man
A Single Man (2009) is Tom Ford's directorial debut film, adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel, starring Colin Firth as a grieving gay professor in 1962 Los Angeles; BAFTA winner, Oscar-nominated, later a Royal Ballet adaptation.
All About Anna
All About Anna is a 2005 Danish erotic romantic comedy directed by Jessica Nilsson, starring Gry Bay, Adrian Bouchet, and Eileen Daly. Produced by Zentropa's Innocent Pictures, it sold 30,000 units and won three Scandinavian Adult Awards.
An Empress and the Warriors (江山美人)
An Empress and the Warriors (江山美人) is a 2008 Hong Kong wuxia romance directed by Ching Siu-tung, starring Kelly Chen, Donnie Yen, and Leon Lai; a princess reclaims her Yan kingdom throne with a hermit's help, distinct from the 1959 film of the same Chinese title.
Anatomy of Hell
Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie de l'enfer) is Catherine Breillat's 2004 French drama adapted from her novel Pornocratie, in which Amira Casar pays Rocco Siffredi to watch her naked body for four nights; a controversial, critically panned work.
April Snow (외출)
April Snow (외출) is a 2005 Hur Jin-ho romantic drama starring Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin as strangers whose spouses were injured together in a car accident after an affair; it flopped in Korea with 809,191 admissions but earned record Japanese pre-sale and DVD revenue.
Ashes of Time Redux
Ashes of Time Redux (東邪西毒：終極版) is Wong Kar-wai's 2008 recut and digital restoration of his 1994 wuxia film Ashes of Time, premiered at Cannes, re-scored with Yo-Yo Ma, shortened to 93 minutes, with seasonal intertitles.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (巴尔扎克与小裁缝)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (巴尔扎克与小裁缝) is Dai Sijie's 2000 French novel and his 2002 film about two teens re-educated during China's Cultural Revolution whose forbidden Balzac books transform a village seamstress; the film opened Cannes Un Certain Regard and was banned in China.
Baran (باران)
Baran (باران, "Rain") is Majid Majidi's 2001 Iranian drama about Lateef, an Iranian worker who falls for Rahmat, an Afghan girl disguised as a boy; it won six Fajr Crystal Simorghs and the Montreal Grand Prize and was Iran's Oscar entry.
Before Sunset
Before Sunset (2004) is Richard Linklater's real-time romantic drama sequel to Before Sunrise, reuniting Ethan Hawke's Jesse and Julie Delpy's Celine in Paris; it earned a 91 Metascore and an Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination.
Betelnut Beauty (爱你爱我)
Betelnut Beauty (愛你愛我, Ai ni ai wo) is Lin Cheng-sheng's 2001 Taiwan-France drama about a runaway betelnut seller and an ex-baker in Taipei; it won the 2001 Berlin Silver Bear for Best Director and the New Talent Award for Angelica Lee, distinct from the unrelated 2026 thriller Betel Nut Beauty.
Beyond Borders (film)
Beyond Borders is a 2003 Paramount romantic drama directed by Martin Campbell, starring Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen as aid workers in Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Chechnya; it earned 14% on Rotten Tomatoes and $4.4 million.
Birth (2004 film)
Birth is a 2004 drama film directed by Jonathan Glazer, starring Nicole Kidman as a widow convinced a 10-year-old boy is her dead husband reborn.
Breath (숨) (2007 film)
Breath (숨, Soom) is Kim Ki-duk's 2007 South Korean drama about a woman visiting a mute death-row inmate; starring Park Zi-a, Ha Jung-woo, and Chang Chen, it competed at Cannes 2007 and is distinct from Jang Min-yong's 2007 experimental short The Breath.
Brick Lane (2007 film)
Brick Lane (2007) is Sarah Gavron's feature debut drama, adapted from Monica Ali's Booker-shortlisted 2003 novel, starring Tannishtha Chatterjee as Nazneen, a Bangladeshi woman in an arranged marriage in East London; filming was moved off Brick Lane after community protests.
Café Lumière (珈琲時光)
Café Lumière (珈琲時光, Kōhī jikō) is Hou Hsiao-hsien's 2003 Japanese-language tribute to Ozu Yasujiro, commissioned by Shochiku for Ozu's centenary, starring Yo Hitoto and Tadanobu Asano, following a pregnant writer researching composer Jiang Wen-ye in Tokyo.
Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ)
Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ, Sekachu) is Isao Yukisada's 2004 Toho film adapting Kyoichi Katayama's novel, starring Osawa, Shibasaki, Nagasawa, and Moriyama; a 3.24-million-admission hit that sparked Japan's pure-love boom.
Daisy (데이지) (2006 film)
Daisy (데이지) is a 2006 South Korea–Hong Kong–Netherlands romantic action film directed by Andrew Lau, starring Jeon Ji-hyun, Jung Woo-sung, and Lee Sung-jae in an Amsterdam love triangle between a painter, a hitman, and an Interpol agent.
Dolls (2002 film)
Dolls (ドールズ, Dōruzu) is Takeshi Kitano's 2002 drama, his tenth film and first love story, structured after bunraku puppet theatre and Chikamatsu's The Courier for Hell, interweaving three tragic love stories across Japan's four seasons, released October 12, 2002 by Shochiku.
Failan (파이란)
Failan (파이란) is a 2001 South Korean drama by Song Hae-sung, adapted from Jiro Asada's novella Love Letter, starring Choi Min-sik and Cecilia Cheung as a paper-married couple who never meet; it won Blue Dragon, Grand Bell, and Deauville awards.
Far from Heaven
Far from Heaven is Todd Haynes's 2002 melodrama starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Dennis Haysbert, a 1957-set homage to Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows that makes race and homosexuality explicit.
Fireproof (film)
Fireproof is a 2008 American Christian drama film directed by Alex Kendrick about a firefighter who tries to save his failing marriage through a 40-day program.
Fish and Elephant (今年夏天)
Fish and Elephant (今年夏天) is Li Yu's 2001 underground 16mm debut, mainland China's first lesbian-themed fiction film, following elephant keeper Qun and stall owner Ling in Beijing; it won Venice's Elvira Notari Prize and was banned at home.
He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not
He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not (À la folie... pas du tout) is a 2002 French psychological thriller, Laetitia Colombani's debut feature, starring Audrey Tautou as Angélique, an art student whose delusional obsession with a married cardiologist is retold from his perspective.
Head-On
Head-On (Gegen die Wand) is Fatih Akin's 2004 German-Turkish drama starring Birol Ünel and Sibel Kekilli as Hamburg Turks in a sham marriage that turns to love; it won the 2004 Golden Bear and European Film Award.
Heaven (2002 film)
Heaven (2002) is Tom Tykwer's romantic thriller drama, from Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz's last screenplay, starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi; it opened the 2002 Berlinale and won the German Film Prize in Silver.
Heavenly Forest (ただ、君を愛してる)
Heavenly Forest (ただ、君を愛してる, Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru) is a 2006 Japanese romance film directed by Shinjo Takehiko, adapted from Ichikawa Takuji's novel Ren'ai Shashin: Mou Hitotsu no Monogatari, starring Tamaki Hiroshi and Miyazaki Aoi as students bonded by photography; released October 28, 2006 by Toei.
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (黑眼圈, Hei yan quan) is Tsai Ming-liang's 2006 drama, his first film set in Malaysia. A beaten homeless man in Kuala Lumpur is nursed by Bangladeshi worker Rawang; Venice 2006 Official Competition, New Crowned Hope Mozart commission.
In Praise of Love
In Praise of Love (Éloge de l'amour) is Jean-Luc Godard's 2001 French-Swiss drama, in Cannes competition, told in two halves: black-and-white 35mm present and saturated digital-video past, about love, memory, and Hollywood buying history.
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) (2003 film)
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) is a 2003 Japanese romance drama by Isshin Inudo, adapted from Seiko Tanabe's short story, starring Satoshi Tsumabuki and Chizuru Ikewaki; it drew about 300,000 Japanese admissions and inspired 2020 anime and Korean remakes.