Sometimes love defies time and space — at least it does in science fiction romantic drama films. Here are eight exhilaratingly mystical movies that are a must watch if you enjoy watching love unfold across dystopian realities, parallel universes, alternate timelines, past lives —and even other planets.
Equals (2015)
Starring Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart, Equals is set in a dystopian future where citizens are rendered emotionless and robotic workers under the “Collective” that subjects them to an existence where they cannot love, yearn, fear, and feel. When Silas develops “Switched On Syndrome” or SOS which causes him to access the ability to feel shortly after witnessing fellow worker Nia have an emotional reaction, both develop an irresistible attraction and connection to each other and a love that threatens and defies the rules and regulations of the otherwise sterilized existence in their society.
Passengers (2016)
Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt star in the 2016 movie Passengers, following a group of passengers who seek to flee earth and find a new home on another planet called Homestead II. In their interstellar spacecraft, they are kept in pods to hibernate until they reach the planet, keeping their original youth and age at the time of travel intact. However, when mechanical engineer Jim Preston wakes up ninety years too early and nearly descends into madness out of the isolation he faces as a result, he makes the dangerous decision to wake another fellow passenger, Aurora up. This is a decision that leads to disastrous consequences when the two fall in love and are challenged to navigate Jim’s betrayal and question their existence in the midst of the vast expanse of the universe.
Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets (2017)
Valerian and Laureline are part of a police federation for the United Human Federation. Their job is to ensure that peace is maintained in the galaxy as Earth expands its relations with other extraterrestrial species in the creation of Alpha, a city that spans thousands of planets and contains millions of species. Throughout their adventures in keeping the peace, their friendship and partnership evolves into romance as Laureline playfully resists Valerian’s attempts to woo her and labels him a player. The film combines spectacular visuals with a moving plot about the extinction of the planet Mül and its citizens. Randomly, it also features a lengthy and special shape-shifting dance cameo by Rihanna that is sure to be unforgettable for viewers. If you like the idea of romance among different types of aliens, otherworldly beings from diverse planets, and talented dance numbers by your favorite celebrities, this one’s for you.
The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
Librarian Henry has a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel without warning. He meets his future wife Clare (Rachel McAdams) throughout his travels at different ages and manages to give her the times and places of where to find him when she records his visits to her. Now we all know ghosting is terrible enough but imagine your husband was constantly disappearing without warning. Challenged by the constraints of sporadic whims of time and space, the couple struggle to keep their relationship solid as they try to start a family and navigate an unconventional love story that takes a tragic toll on their romance.
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022)
In one reality, you need to pay your taxes and explain to the IRS why karaoke machines count as a vital part of your business expenses. In another, you’re a famous chef, actress, or martial arts master who never married the love of their life but lived out their most successful and highest timeline. Which reality would you choose? Evelyn Wang is tempted by the possibilities of the infinite multiverse as she goes head-to-head with the “dark” alternate version of her daughter, Alpha Joy, who threatens the very existence of it. She also juggles her strained relationship with her husband Waymond who she comes to appreciate as she meets different parallel versions of him, realizing that in every reality, he operates with the kindness and empathy that may very well save the world. Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is a beautiful film about the power of love and its ability to transcend the barriers of time and space.
Interstellar (2014)
Joseph Cooper is a former NASA pilot who is forced to abandon his children Cooper and Murph to travel through space and save humanity from extinction in the search for habitable planets on the Endurance spacecraft. Aside from Amelia’s love for physicist Wolf Edmunds which causes her to travel across the galaxy in hopes of seeing him and the planet he may occupy which could be habitable, there is is a brief romance in the film between Murph and Getty, a NASA medical doctor, as well as some possible romantic tension between Amelia and Cooper. Yet the true “love story” throughout the film remains the strong familial bond between Murph and her father Cooper. Cooper is essentially able to travel through different points throughout their history in a four-dimensional tesseract to communicate to Murph the messages needed to save the world, defying time and space to do so. As Amelia eloquently puts it, “Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space.”
Timer (2009)
Imagine a world where you get a wrist implant that can tell you the exact time you will meet your soulmate. In the science fiction romantic comedy Timer, this is a reality. Oona is an orthodontist in Los Angeles whose implant has a blank timer, indicating that her soulmate does not yet have a timer. Unbeknownst to her, her stepsister Steph tried to introduce her to a man who is actually her true soulmate, Dan, but they have a missed connection when Oona decided not to show up because she is being romanced by another man, and Steph actually begins a flirtation with Dan instead. In a series of serendipitous and chaotic circumstances, Oona struggles to release her expectations of meeting “the one,” only to find her soulmate at the last minute. Talk about good timing.
Sliding Doors (1998)
This 1998 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow splits into two different timelines. In one timeline, Helen Quilley misses her train in the London Underground after she drops an earring in the elevator and a man picks it up. In another, she boards the train and sits beside the fellow traveler, James, who picked up her earring, and they make a connection. She later arrives home to catch her boyfriend cheating with his ex-girlfriend. In the latter timeline, she leaves her boyfriend and falls in love with James. However, in both timelines, horrific circumstances ensue that threaten her life, and only one of them lead to a somewhat happy ending. Sliding Doors is an epic alternate timeline movie about love and missed connections, how infinite possibilities and life-course trajectories can branch off one another, and how even the most tumultuous detours can lead to happy endings. It illustrates the domino effect of how even the slightest changes in our choices can lead to a complete “timeline shift” in our destinies.
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