If you’re okay with a bit of generalizing, it’s possible to call the romantic comedy genre, overall, a fairly lightweight and easily approachable one. Movies dealing with love that also want to make audiences laugh tend to be feel-good affairs, or comfort watches. This isn’t always the case, though, and rom-coms can be plenty substantive. It all depends on the approach, and the willingness to subvert conventions or get a little weird, really.
Some rom-coms go the extra step when it comes to unconventionality by also having arthouse sensibilities; personal films that might not have much commercial appeal, or challenge cinematic norms. The following movies do this well. Some are, admittedly, arthouse films first and foremost that cover numerous genres. For these,if two of those genres can be identified as “romance” and “comedy,” then they qualify here, even if they’re technically more than “just” rom-coms.You mustn’t be afraid to categorize a little broader, darling.
10’Arizona Dream' (1993)
Director: Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica’sa Serbian filmmakerprobably best known for 1995’sUnderground, but even then, that film’s not as well-known as it deserves to be. Before then, he made an English-language film calledArizona Dream, which has some big-name actors in it, likeJohnny Depp,Faye Dunaway, andJerry Lewis, but is also deeply strange on just about every level, and hard to describe narratively.
It’s a film that’s surreal, to put it lightly, revolving around a man who ends up becoming involved with two different women, and romance (sort of) follows. It’s a chaotic film that lives up to its title by being set, unsurprisingly, in Arizona,all the while also feeling like something of a fever dream for much of its runtime. Getting through all 2.5 hours ofArizona Dreamtakes some stamina, but it’s singular and unlike much else, even compared to Kusturica’s other offbeat and unusual films.
Rent on Apple TV
9’Tuvalu' (1999)
Director: Veit Helmer
Far from being one of themore well-known movies of its year,Tuvalucouldat least be called one of the more distinctive films of 1999. It feels like a homage to the silent era, in a way, featuring no real dialogue (none that’ll help you understand the plot, anyway) while having a narrative that seems to center on a failing indoor swimming pool center, and a worker there who falls for a young woman… seemingly the only young woman in the entire town.
Whether it’s set in some fantastical era, or the distant future, or an alternate dimension where speech doesn’t really exist…Tuvaluleaves it up to you to decide. It goes one step further than most arthouse films by leaving genres largely up in the air and up to interpretation, but there is a romance somewhat near to its center, and it feels like a somewhatcomedic homage to films from the silent era. As such, labeling it as an arthouse rom-com? Sure, why not?
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8’Mind Game' (2004)
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Animated movies can get kind of arthouse too, which is well demonstrated by something as compellingly bizarre asMind Game. This Japanese film stretches the limits of animation itself, showcasing various surreal and inexplicable sights that make sense within the context of the film, and the unusual ride it provides, though words thought of or written after the fact ultimately fail to describe the experience.
Broadly,Mind Gameis about a down-on-his-luck young man who continues to hold onto a childhood crush, and eventually findshimself on the run from the yakuzawith said childhood crush. They then end up trapped in a whale and spend a surprisingly large amount of the film’s runtime there. Other strange things happen both before and after the whale misadventure. You kind of just have to see it for yourself.
Watch on AMC+
7’L’Âge d’Or' (1930)
Director: Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuelwas always a provocative filmmaker, being behind the disturbing silent short filmUn Chien Andalouearly in his career and concluding that very same career with someincendiary satirical films in the 1970s. But to focus on those early days,L’Âge d’Oris broadly definable as some strange blend of comedy, romance, and drama, with a helping of surrealism for good measure.
L’Âge d’Oris about the love between two people being constantly thwarted by various groups and people within the pair’s lives, with scenes not always flowing logically, giving the entire film a stop-and-start feel. It’s not consistent, but it succeeds in always keeping you on your toes, and the jarring qualities on offer here do feel intentional. If nothing else, it succeeds in being remarkably interesting, especially forsomething that’ll celebrate its 100th anniversary in the not-too-distant year of 2030.
Rent on Amazon
6’Smiles of a Summer Night' (1955)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergmanis one of the all-timebiggest names in the realm of international cinema, being well-renowned forhis unique fantasy filmsand for being behindsome harrowing dramas of truly considerable length. Yet less celebrated was his surprising knack for more comedic fare, perhaps best illustrated by 1955’sSmiles of a Summer Night, which is, believe it or not, a Bergman rom-com.
It has a farcical plot that involves various people switching partners over a rather wild weekend, learning about each other and their current relationships – both the good and bad parts – in the process.Smiles of a Summer Nightdoes have some interesting and perhaps even somewhat serious things to say about love and long-term relationships, but it’s also funny, strange, and even a little romantic in the end, andought to be checked out by anyone who’s under the impression that Bergman’s body of work is one-note or nothing but consistent misery.
Watch on Criterion
5’Punch-Drunk Love' (2002)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
WhilePaul Thomas Anderson’s1990s moviestended to be long (with the exception ofHard Eight), they were generally approachable and somewhat easy to digest. His later films, fromThere Will Be Bloodonwards, havetended to be more difficult in various ways(with the exception, arguably, ofLicorice Pizza). It’s possible, though still imperfect, to separate his filmography so far in those ways.
However, that leavesPunch-Drunk Lovesomewhat awkwardly in the middle, feeling pretty straight to the point but also undeniably strange, following a man prone to outbursts of anger falling in love while experiencing chaos elsewhere in his life.It’s a movie that can be funny, uncomfortable, and romantic, sometimes all at once, defying easy categorization to the point where you may as well slap the “arthouse” label on it and call it a day (that might sound flippant, but the movie’s also great. Watch it).
Punch-Drunk Love
4’The Rules of the Game' (1939)
Director: Jean Renoir
This one might be stretching the limits of “rom-com,” but again, when it comes to arthouse cinema, it’s okay to go more than a little outside the box.The Rules of the Gameis undoubtedly, however,one ofthe best films of the 1930sand one of the greatest French films of all time, most focused on being a satirical dramedy, but dealing with enough characters and thematic content that it also ends up shining a little light on relationships, as a concept.
It takes place in and around a lavish country estate, showcasing the disparity between the wealthy enjoying the place and the various workers who toil away there, slowly building in intensity with the suggestion that, eventually, something bad’s going to happen. Maybe that’s one ofThe Rules of the Entertainment Industry; even when something’s unconventional and/or arthouse in nature, drama/suspense in some capacity is always welcome.
3’Night Is Short, Walk on Girl' (2017)
For as good asMasaaki Yuasa’s aforementioned film,Mind Game, was, there’s a good argument to be made thatNight Is Short, Walk on Girlis even better. It taps into somewhat similar territory, so far as being a fantastical animated movie that’s both funny and quirkily romantic, but it’s a little easier to digest and hits a bit stronger emotionally thanMind Game.
Both would make for a fantastically mesmerizing and head-spinning double feature, though, for any anime fan who’s feeling particularly brave.Night Is Short, Walk on Girlis also about two young people, one infatuated, and the other somewhat distant, gradually coming to know each other before perhaps falling in love. Along the way, there are also – like withMind Game– strange sights to behold and be dazzled by. Once more, words fail a movie like this one.
The Night Is Short Walk On Girl
A boy falls in love with his junior in a Kyoto college club, and struggles daily to be noticed by her. However, she is naive and unsophisticated and is completely indifferent to him.
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2’The Lobster' (2015)
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
ThoughYorgos Lanthimos’sPoor Thingsmight be more popular,as far as arthouse sci-fi/comedy movies go,The Lobsterarguably stands as more of a rom-com… a very, very uncomfortable and feel-bad sort of rom-com. It’s not a movie that should be shown to people who tend to enjoy the more traditional sorts of romantic comedies,to the point where labeling it a rom-com is honestly pretty funny.
Still, it involves a dystopian setting of sorts and a premise centered on people being turned into an animal (of their choice) if they fail to find a romantic partner within a certain period of time. Therefore,The Lobsteris technically a dark comedy and a movie about love/romance at the same time, all the while also being a work of sci-fi, a particularly bleak drama, andalso something of a slow-paced thriller, at least in its second half. It’s equally bizarre and great, really.
The Lobster
1’Chungking Express' (1994)
Director: Wong Kar-wai
All in all,Chungking Expressis a good movie to watch for anyone who’snever seen anything arthouse-y in nature, but wants to get into such a genre/style… whatever you want to call it. It’s perhapsWong Kar-wai’sbest movie, or at least a contender alongsideIn the Mood for Love, which isa somewhat more serious romantic arthouse film.
Released thesame year as too many good movies to count,Chungking Expresstells two stories, one after the other, both dealing with love, loss, heartbreak, and loneliness. It’s crushingly sad and viscerally emotional at times, butChungking Expressbalances these moments of introspection with joy and surprising humor, all the while never feeling tonally unbalanced. It’s a remarkable, stylish, and energetic film, and an essential piece of cinema however you want to classify it.
