Month of Love: Essential Indie Romance Watchlist for this Valentine's Day!
By Ananya Arora
Love is stronger this time of the year in the air, and with it comes a gust of film suggestions! Films From Underground has you covered this Valentines with some offbeat, indie romance for you to end up falling in love with!
Submarine
Directed by Richard Ayoade and released in 2010, Submarine is a teenage love story. With Godard-like use of color, especially in costume, the story is weird and loveable. 15-year-old protagonist Oliver Tate is in a relationship with a rebel without a cause; bully Jordana. The film takes you along on their hilarious yet heartwarming coming-of-age journey filled with cute moments of romance.
Little Fish
Chad Hartigan’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ode released in the midst of 2020. The film follows two lovers who fight for their relationship as the world around them is plagued with a disease that causes memory loss. Bittersweet and ompletely heart wrenching, we give a fair warning this film will leave you with many tears to shed but a heart soaring with love.
What Are The Odds
An indie rom-com made by Megha Ramaswamy is a complete feel-good comfort watch. While not being a typical romantic film, it oozes with platonic love, quirk and humor—a great Valentine's Day watch with friends!
Sidewalls
A personal favorite from Argentinian director Gustavo Taretto, Sidewalls is a never-before-imagined scenario for a romantic comedy. It discovers urban loneliness, poetry, love, personal insecurities, etc. all in a 94-minute run time beautifully. It is available to watch on Mubi!
Beginners
Probably the most known film on this list, yet it still happens to be underrated. Mime Mills’ love story is about adults coming of age, exploring love and grief in a parallel narrative.
Paris, 13th District
Coming straight from the city of love comes the story of 3 friends who sometimes fall in love with each other. Directed by Jacques Audiard, this film will put you all in the feels.
Compartment No. 6
Described as a Before Sunrise under the influence of vodka, this road love movie by Juho Kuosmanen is about human connections. A must-watch lighthearted, fun, romantic film is promised!
‘96
C. Prem Kumar directs a romantic drama filled with nostalgia and questions about lost love. With an intense visual narrative, 96 is for those who are looking for some hints of drama and reminiscence this Valentines.
Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum
Another Vijay Sethupathi flick, this time directed by Nalan Kumarasamy. This eccentric love story comes packed with drama and comedy—it is a perfect package with something for everything this Valentines!
Once Again
This lesser-known gem of a film was directed by Kanwal Seth. The film shows us how romance has no age limit, as it follows the middle-aged protagonists who meet after a chance phone call leads to daily conversations.
I hope all or at least one of these films sets you in the mood for love this Valentines! Let us know in the comments what's your favorite love story.