Grab a friend or cozy up with a significant other and catch these Italian romance flicks!
We are on the cusp of fall. The last yearnings of wanderlust and summer romance are still swirling in our heads. Here are some great flicks to bring up on Netflix to finish your summer with from Laura Marie Meyers! And if you can’t take an actual vacation overseas, bring a little bit of Italy home with these movies!
With the Venice Film Festival starting today, it’s time to celebrate some Italian amore by streaming these romantic Netflix picks. While you may not be taking a romantic Venice vacation, you and your other half (or your best friends) can escape with a cozy date night and one of these instant streaming movies. From classic films from the ’50s to contemporary indie movies, these Italian romance films are sure to get you in the film festival spirit, whether you’re in the mood for a comedy or a passion-filled drama.
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Light of My Eyes
Light of My Eyes (2001) won multiple awards at the Venice Film Festival, making it an ideal pick to prep for this year’s events. In it, a young man is drawn to the tragic life of a struggling single mother who’s trying to hold onto both her business and the custody of her daughter.
Marriage Italian Style
Iconic Italian actress Sophia Loren stars in 1964’sMarriage Italian Style. A man is planning to get married, but when his mistress (Loren) tells him that she’s ill, he chooses to care for her instead.
Bread and Tulips
In 2000’s Bread and Tulips, a melancholy housewife feels that her husband takes her for granted. To rediscover her happiness, she hitchhikes to Venice and starts to create a new life for herself.
Agata and the Storm
Agata and the Storm (2004) centers around a middle-aged bookstore owner who has an affair with a younger man.
Come Undone
In 2010’s drama Come Undone, a young woman stirs up her stable, comfortable life with a steamy office affair.
Senso
Set in the late 19th century, 1954’s Senso follows an Italian countess who shocks her family and her country by falling in love with an Austrian lieutenant.
Malèna
In 2000’s Malèna, a beautiful woman catches the eye of a young boy. As time goes on, he watches as she struggles through loss, poverty, and humiliation. Meanwhile, he struggles to understand his own feelings about her.
The Tiger and the Snow
The whimsical The Tiger and the Snow (2005) stars Italian actor-director Roberto Benigni, and the film includes pieces of the plot from his Oscar-winning film Life Is Beautiful. In the movie, Benigni plays a romantic poet who promises to follow his love (played by his real-life wife, Nicoletta Braschi) wherever she goes — even if that means entering Iraq during the American invasion.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Sophia Lauren and Marcello Mastroianni star in 1963’s Oscar-winning comedy Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, a trio of sex-related stories.
I Am Love
I Am Love (2009) — a Golden Globe nominee starring Tilda Swinton — involves family tensions and forbidden love.
Days and Clouds
Filmed in Genoa, Italy, 2008’s Days and Clouds focuses on domestic drama. A woman goes back to school to study art history, and when her husband loses his job, the financial strain shifts the dynamic of their marriage.
Ginger and Cinnamon
The comedy Ginger and Cinnamon (2003) tells the story of a woman who — just out of a relationship — brings her niece to a gorgeous Greek resort for vacation. When the 14-year-old starts talking about a new guy, her aunt is shocked to find out that it’s her ex.
Sunflower
In 1970’s Sunflower, a woman visits Russia years after her husband is reported missing in action, only to find that he’s still alive.
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