The routine is exhausting, I know. The world spins too fast. But if there's something deeply restorative, it's allowing yourself a good break to discover a love story. In cinema, romances are underestimated, but they are also a form of healing, an emotional refuge where human frailties are welcomed without judgment. In this list, we brought some HBO Max titles that are not synonymous with superficiality, but with sensitivity. Works that find beauty in small reconciliations, in the tenderness of imperfections and in the courage to start over when everything seems lost.

These narratives remind us that love rarely emerges in a linear fashion. It arises from mismatch, from wrong, from loneliness and chaos. Characters who live stories crossed by genuinely human hesitations, fears and impulses. Others fall in love when they least expect it. There are those who rediscover affection. At each reunion, love is shown not as an unattainable ideal, but as constant learning: a force that requires dedication and patience. Love is also laughing at your own lack of control and moving forward even if you are afraid. Love is more about acceptance than control.

New Year's Love (2024), Nick Moore

Two babies are born in the same hospital on New Year's Day, just a minute apart, a curious fate that marks their lives from the beginning. Minnie has always believed that Quinn, born first, would have stolen her luck: she feels marked by bad luck and a past of unfulfilled expectations; he built a more stable life, even if far from it. Decades later, their paths cross at a New Year's Eve party, and together they discover that their stories are intertwined by coincidences and old resentments. When they meet again, they face uncertainty, sorrows and dormant hopes, in an attempt to decide whether it is worth betting on what could have been, or be, between them. The narrative plays with the idea of ​​destiny and second chances, as Minnie and Quinn try to overcome the weight of personal failures to embrace a possible union.

Another Chance at Love (2024), Tyler Russell

After losing his best friend in tragic circumstances, a young architect finds himself overcome by a feeling of guilt and emptiness that prevents him from moving forward. Driven by a last wish left by the deceased, he sets out in search of his secret twin sister, separated as an embryo, the result of a complex family history full of secrets. The journey, which begins as an act of loyalty and mourning, gradually transforms into an experience of self-discovery. Along the way, the architect meets someone who challenges his certainties about love, destiny and new beginnings. Between painful memories and unexpected encounters, he realizes that sometimes life offers a second chance where you least expect it, and that love can be born precisely from what seemed lost forever.

An Unexpected Love (2018), Juan Vera

After 25 years together, a couple decides to separate amicably when their son leaves to study abroad. What seemed like a mature decision turns into a confusing journey of rediscoveries, encounters and disagreements. Each one tries to reinvent themselves: she, embracing freedom; him, trying to understand the emptiness that was left. However, distance forces them to rethink what really united them. The film observes adult love with humor and melancholy, one that has already experienced intense passions and needs to learn to deal with silence, longing and time.

Drunk with Love (2002), Paul Thomas Anderson

A shy and lonely man, accustomed to the monotonous routine of his small business, sees his life turned upside down when an unexpected encounter awakens long-dormant feelings in him. Passion appears abruptly, almost irrationally, and forces you to confront your own insecurity. Between clumsy gestures, outbursts of anger and tenderness, he discovers that love can be as transformative as it is destructive. Her journey is marked by a silent struggle between the fear of being vulnerable and the desire to surrender completely. Amidst an absurd and poetic atmosphere, the film reveals the delicacy of a man who, despite being surrounded by loneliness, finds redemption in affection.

Fer Kalaoun is an editor at Revista Bula and a reporter specializing in cultural, audiovisual and political journalism since 2014. A History student at the Federal Institute of Goiás (IFG), she brings a critical and contextualized perspective to her texts. He has worked for major media outlets in Goiás, including Rádio CBN, Jornal O Popular, Jornal Opção and Rádio Sagres, where he presented the Cinemateca Sagres show.