Looking for love? You’ve come to the right place. Why go to a singles bar or a farmer’s market when you could stumble into a slow-burn romance from the comfort of your own home? After all, who’s got the time for a chaotic and messy love affair? With bills to pay and deadlines to hit, who wouldn’t choose a quiet and consistent love over something explosive and short-lived? Less of a headache to manage. Not all love is incendiary; sometimes it starts with a little spark rather than emotional gasoline, but as the years pass, the flames burn all the hotter. These 10 best slow-burn romances? Each one is a cinematic bonfire.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Directed by Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire is peak period romance. Set in the 18th century on a remote French island, the film revolves around Marianne and Héloïse—the flint and tinder for the ultimate sapphic slow-burn. Hired to paint Héloïse’s portrait before she’s married off to a nobleman, Marriane spends hours each day gazing into the stunning face of her subject, and that subject studies her with equal intensity. You know that Nietzsche quote about abysses and their penchant for staring into you? In this case, the abyss in question is Héloïse’s eyes, reflecting Marianne’s hidden desires back at her. A dreamlike portrait of love painted against a rugged coastline, this film is as flammable as an oil painting and equally beautiful to look at.
Paris, Texas
Directed by Wim Wenders, Paris, Texas features a romance so slow-burning that you won’t even notice it until the film’s finale. It’s the story of Travis Henderson, a man wandering the west Texas wilderness with nothing but a gallon water jug for company. After collapsing at a gas station, Travis is rescued by his estranged brother and taken back to California, where his young son Hunter has been waiting for him for four years. While Hunter’s mother doesn’t appear until the final act, her absence is felt throughout the film, which culminates in a devastating reunion between two old flames, ignited one last time. What drove Travis and his long-lost beloved apart? Financial hardship? Emotional neglect? Maybe something deeper still, the weight of repressed desires bubbling up to the surface and blasting the pair apart. Be warned, this film is a real tear-jerker.
Carol
Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt, Todd Haynes’ Carol is the story of Therese Belivet, a struggling young photographer whose days of retail worker hell are brightened by the appearance of the titular soon-to-be divorcee. Though Carol and Therese are over a decade apart in age and involved with men, these romantic obstacles are merely fuel for their slow-burning fire. Set in the mid-20th century, Carol is a quiet rebellion against a heteronormative world. While Therese and Carol can’t burn their closed-minded society to the ground, they can at least tend a flame of resistance with every stolen kiss and glance. And while all ten of the slow-burning films on this list are pop culture touchstones, Carol is the only one that launched its own internet meme—”they’re lesbians, Harold.” Yes, Harold, they are, and there’s is one of the greatest love stories of all time.
In the Mood for Love
Directed by Wong Kar-wai, In the Mood for Love isn’t just one of the greatest slow-burn romances of all time, it’s one of the greatest films ever made. Set in early 1960s Hong Kong, the film follows next-door neighbors Chow and Su, who learn that their respective spouses are having an affair. As the pair piece together the details of their lovers’ infidelity, a slow-burning spark ignites between them. The ultimate romantic tragedy, In the Mood for Love is the culmination of missed connections and unspoken desires. Despite being perfect for one another, Chow and Su’s turbulent emotions cause them to continually blow past each other. We are the sum of all our past lovers, and sometimes those past lovers leave serious marks. Sometimes, we’re hurt so bad that we can’t heal in time for new love to take root. Chow and Su are both holding a candle for each other, but they keep turning away.
Only Lovers Left Alive
Directed by Jim Jarmusch, Only Lovers Left Alive is the story of Adam and Eve—not the biblical apple eaters, but a vampire couple whose love story is equally ancient. Living on opposite ends of the world, the pair are attempting to keep their spark alive by any means necessary. Spending your life with the person you love most in the world sounds romantic, but when that life could potentially last forever, you’ve gotta get creative to keep the romance feeling fresh. In this case, that means wandering Tangiers, working on rock albums, and trying to resist the urge to commit suicide. An existential meditation on romance and un-life, this film questions whether or not everlasting love is really all it’s cracked up to be. Slow-burn? Adam and Eve have kept the flame alive for centuries, and may have to tend it for millenia more.
Lost In Translation
Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation proves that some of the brightest slow-burns burn briefly. Aging movie star Bob Harris has come to Japan to shoot whiskey commercials and get some distance from his failing marriage. Meanwhile, young Yale graduate Charlotte is stuck with her husband, a famous photographer who often leaves her alone. After commiserating at their hotel bar, Bob and Charlotte strike up an unlikely relationship—one not founded on physical chemistry, but emotional fulfillment. The only two members of their own secret lonely hearts club, Bob and Charlotte grow closer through late-night conversation and sake-fueled karaoke performances. Will they end up together? Probably not. Should they? Debatable. Will you want them to? Absolutely yes.
Pride and Prejudice
An adaptation of the most influential slow-burn romance novel ever penned, Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice is an equally seminal piece of romance cinema. Unless you’ve been living under a rock the size of Mr. Darcy’s ego at novel’s beginning, you’re familiar with the gist of its sweeping enemies-to-lovers plot. One could say that Darcy and Elizabeth were burning for one another at their first meeting, but the fuel of that fire changed from hate to love by the story’s end. As the pair slowly begin to let go of their negative preconceptions each other, they create room for affection to grow. When that pair consists of Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, the film’s audience is sure to be equally smitten.
If Beale Street Could Talk
Directed by Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk isn’t a “will they/won’t they” sort of slow-burn, it’s a “how can this fire possibly stay alive?” Told through a series of non-linear flashbacks, the film follows childhood friends turned lifelong lovers Tish and Fonny, whose relationship is tested by the cruel realities of a corrupt justice system. Arrested for a horrific crime he didn’t commit, Fonny is left to languish in prison, while Tish attempts to convince an uncaring world of her lover’s innocence. Though the film refuses to shy away from the brutal realities that people of color face in the United States carceral system, it’s ultimately a tender testament to the resilience of love. Despite the years, the distance, and the devastation, the fire never goes out.
Millennium Actress
Directed by Satoshi Kon, Millennium Actress isn’t your traditional slow-burn romance—Kon is anything but traditional, after all. The plot follows two documentarians who are set to interview Chiyoko Fujiwara, a famous Japanese actress who mysteriously vanished from the spotlight decades before. As the pair piece together the details of the now-elderly Chiyoko’s life, they learn that her illustrious career wasn’t fueled by artistic ambition, but by unfulfilled love. After falling head over heels for a runaway political dissident as a teen, Chiyoko took a job as an actress to travel the world in search of him. The slow-burn romance in this film is fueled entirely by Chiyoko’s devotion; she holds a candle for her lost lover across the decades, hoping to be reunited someday. But does Chiyoko truly love the mysterious man whose name she never learned, or just the pursuit of him? Maybe a little of both? That’s something for the documentary crew to figure out.
Past Lives
Directed by Celine Song, Past Lives is the story of Na Young and Hae Sung, whose slow-burn connection was sparked when they were twelve years old. Separated after her parents moved away from South Korea, Na Young, now renamed Nora, discovers that Hae Sung has been looking for her for over a decade. The pair attempt to reconnect, but distance and other relationships continually prevent them from rekindling their love. The film is a meditation on the concept of inyeon—an untranslateable Korean word for a love that has lasted across past lives. Nora and Hae Sung may not end up together in this lifetime, but they’re destined for one another in the next, or perhaps the next after that. This is a slow-burn romance of cosmic proportions.
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Sarah Fimm
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