An efficient way to feel all the feels without actually having to put yourself out there in this cold, cold world: watching a sad romance movie. The butterflies in your stomach from being around your crush, the nervous excitement around a first kiss, the stress of not knowing how to define your relationship, the heartbreak of losing your first love—you can experience all of those emotions from the safety of your couch with these must-watch movies.
The sad love stories on this list fit the definitions of “bittersweet” and tearjerker to a T. They feature all the swoon-worthy elements of a classic romance film that will sweep you off your feet and then leave you to dry your tears with emotional drama. While these movies all have some element of romance, they also range far and wide in terms of subject matter, from divorce and complicated love triangles to the coming-of-age experience of going through your first heartbreak.
So pop some popcorn, stream one of these movies, and be prepared to choke back sobs! Below, find the saddest romantic films on Netflix right now that are perfect for when you need a good cry.
'6 Years' (2015)
This indie drama follows the rapid breakdown of a young couple's six-year relationship. Melanie (Taissa Farmiga) and Daniel (Ben Rosenfield) are 20somethings in Texas who have been in love for years when their relationship takes a turn and devolves into violence and infidelity, forcing them to reevaluate their future together.
'All the Bright Places' (2020)
Based on the YA novel of the same name, All the Bright Places chronicles the romance between high school students Violet (Elle Fanning) and Finch (Justice Smith), who fall for each other while working on a school project. Violet's friends warn her against dating Finch, who has a reputation for being an "uncontrollable freak," but she doesn't believe the rumors until she witnesses Finch lose control herself. Although Violet attempts to continue the relationship and support Finch, the relationship ends with a tragedy.
'Barfi!' (2012)
For a bittersweet Bollywood movie that will warm your heart, make you cry, then smile, and then cry some more, watch Barfi!. It follows the starcrossed lovers connection between a man named Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor), who was born deaf and mute, and a woman named Shruti (Ileana D'Cruz), who loves him but marries another man due to familial pressures. When they connect years later and Shruti finds herself in an unfulfilling marriage, there’s a possibility of rekindling their relationship, though Barfi also has feelings for a woman on the autism spectrum (Priyanka Chopra)—creating a complicated love triangle.
'A Beautiful Life' (2011)
A cocktail-fueled night out leads glamorous businesswoman Li (Shu Qi) to puke accidentally on a lonely policeman named Fang (Ye Liu). After their awkward meeting, the two keep bumping into one another and thus begins a love story (with many setbacks) for the ages.
'Blue Jay' (2016)
High school sweethearts Jim (Mark Duplass) and Amanda (Sarah Paulson) have been out of touch for 20 years when they run into each other by chance in their hometown. The pair reconnect and reminisce and things flow so easily, it's hard to see why they broke up. As the day unfolds, however, the devastating reason they broke up—and will never work—is revealed.
'Call Me By Your Name' (2017)
Arguably the film that launched Timothée Chalamet into stardom, Call Me By Your Name will wreck you in the best way possible. The film follows 17-year-old Elio (Chalamet) who gets close to his father's research assistant (Armie Hammer) one summer. It's a melancholy, yet touching look at first love and how it alters our lives forever.
'Carol' (2015)
Todd Haynes adapted Patricia Highsmith’s famed 1952 LGBTQ+ novel The Price of Salt to stunning effect. In the period piece set in ‘50s-era New York, Cate Blanchett plays a wealthy housewife who enchants a sweet department store shop girl (Rooney Mara). Never has a story of forbidden love—unfolding over meals consisting of spinach and eggs and afternoons playing the piano or taking photographs—smoldered quite like this.
'Dreamy Eyes' (2019)
Country boy Ngan (Tran Nghia) fell in love at first sight with Hà Lan (Truc Anh) when he was 6-years-old, and spent his childhood pining for his eventual best friend. When Hà Lan moves to the big city to study at the university, Ngan remains devoted, even as she falls for his playboy cousin Dung (Tran Phong). As time passes, this Vietnamese romance asks: Can unrequited love survive three decades? And when will Hà Lan realize what's been in front of her all along?
'Drawing Closer' (2024)
This Japanese film follows the abridged love story of two 17-year-olds facing terminal illnesses. Akito (Ren Nagase) is a teen boy with just one year left to live, who is keeping his diagnosis secret from his friends to avoid being a burden. He meets and becomes fascinated by Haruna (Natsuki Deguchi), who has calmly accepted her fate though she only has six months left. It's impossible to keep the tears back as the pair slowly fall in love.
'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004)
If you could erase your ex from your mind, would you? That’s the premise of this sci-fi drama written by Charlie Kaufman, as Clementine (Kate Winslet) decides to undergo a procedure to erase her former lover Joel (Jim Carrey) from her memory, inspiring him to do the same. Flashing between their good times and bad, while Joel feels his recollection of the woman he once loved slip away, breaking your heart as the indie favorite offers an unconventional take on love lost.
'Good Grief' (2023)
Dan Levy directs and stars in this film about dealing with grief following an unexpected tragedy. Marc (Levy) is still reeling from the death of his husband Oliver (Luke Evans), when he takes a trip to Paris with his two best friends Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel). If being recently widowed in the City of Lights isn't enough, Marc also has to grapple with some uncovered truths about his late spouse.
'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' (2018)
Lily James stars in this period piece as Juliet, a writer who starts corresponding with the residents of Guernsey Island who formed a book club during Germany's WWII occupation. She soon grows close to one of the book club's members and questions what she thought she wanted for her life. While this drama is lighthearted, the glimpses of the war are particularly emotional.
'Irreplaceable You' (2018)
Soulmates Abbi (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and Sam (Michiel Huisman) have been together since they were kids, and they're planning a bright future together, starting with a visit to the doctor to see if a baby is in the cards for them. But it's not a baby that shows up in Abbi's ultrasound; it's stomach cancer, and it doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon. Obsessed with setting her husband up with a proper life after she's gone, Abbi comes up with a plan to hook Sam up with someone new, but her fixation on the future threatens to destroy her present.
'The Last Letter From Your Lover' (2021)
If you've already read and binged (and sobbed over) Me Before You, may we recommend this time-jumping tearjerker from author Jojo Moyes. In 1965 London, socialite Jennifer Stirling (Shailene Woodley) has an affair with journalist Anthony O’Hare (Callum Turner), behind her controlling husband's (Joe Alwyn) back. In the present day, journalist Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones) discovers a long-lost love letter between Jennifer and Anthony and sets out to learn how their romance ended. If the 1960s love triangle isn't enough, Ellie also finds love with the newspaper's archivist, played by Nabhaan Rizwan.
'Legends of the Fall' (1994)
Based on the Jim Harrison novella of the same name, Legends of the Fall is an early 20th-century epic about a family of brothers in the Montana wilderness and the trials between them. When one of them (Henry Thomas) dies while the other two (Aidan Quinn and Brad Pitt) survive fighting in WWI, a love triangle unfolds between them and their late brother’s fiancée, the longtime family friend Susannah (Julia Ormond). It may be a Western and a war drama, but the romance propels the tragedy forward.
'The Notebook' (2004)
Is there a more classic sad romance movie? We think not! Based on the beloved Nicholas Sparks romance novel, this sweeping love story follows the unlikely union between rich girl Allie (Rachel McAdams) and working-class Noah (Ryan Gosling), as relayed by an elderly man reading an old notebook to a woman in a nursing home. There are countless quotes we still can’t stop saying (“If you’re a bird, I’m a bird”) and few steamy scenes can hold a torch to their passionate kiss in the rain. Prepare to be enveloped by their love and the tragedies they endure.
'Our Souls at Night' (2017)
Hollywood heavyweights Robert Redford and Jane Fonda (who previously starred opposite one another in multiple '70s classics) lead this beautiful drama. The two icons play a widower and widow who have long been neighbors, but never much engaged, until one connection changes that. Together, they face their grief and loneliness by platonically sharing a bed every night until they inevitably develop feelings and also face allowing themselves to let in new love, too. You can count on the star power and the moving material to tell a nuanced story about finding love late in life.
