There’s nothing like a warm summer love to get you through the season. And it seems like the hotter the temperatures, the steamier the romance.
But if that chapter of “summer loving” happened too fast for you, make the most of the moment now and chill on the couch with Netflix, a glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn. The beloved streaming service has thousands of movies that will have you enamored, enchanted, crying and maybe even yearning for a sweet romance.
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From true stories to novel adaptations, to tales that will also quench your wanderlust and lust for life, these fresh, summery films have portrayed the very best of what summer romances mean, with backdrops that epitomize every ounce of the season.
If you’re looking to cool off with a hot movie about sweet, seasonal relationships, which can often outlast summer, check out these six films now streaming on Netflix.
“Testament of Youth”
Based on the popular memoir of English writer, feminist, and pacifist, Vera Brittain’s experiences during the First World War, Testament of Youth is a powerful and moving impassioned story of love, war and remembrance from the point of view of a woman trying to find her place in the world and overcoming grief.
The film follows Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) on the cusp of adulthood and a modern new era, who despite the wishes of her conservative parents (Dominic West, Emily Watson) to get married, is determined to attend Oxford University and become a writer. Vera finds support from her younger brother, Edward (Taron Egerton) and his prep-school friend, Victor (Colin Morgan). But when she meets her brother’s other friend, the dashing and robust Roland (Kit Harington), her view on what she thought she believed significantly alters.
“Legends of the Fall”
As one of the films catapulting Brad Pitt into heartthrob status, this 1995 classic is an epic, sweeping love story based on the 1979 novella of the same name about three brothers, their father and a beautiful woman living amid the plains of Montana during the 1800s who changes their life.
The film’s periods span from World War I through the prohibition era and sees conflict threatening to drive the brothers apart as they fall in love with the same woman. It’s got intense drama, action and some incredible chemistry with Pitt and co-star, Julia Ormond.
“Southside With You”
There’s nothing like a real love story to tug at your heart strings and Southside With You is one that will definitely give you all the feels. Inspired by former President Barack Obama and First Lady, Michelle Obama’s first date, this indie gem recounts the eventful summer day in 1989 when a young law firm associate tried to woo a lawyer.
The two spent the whole day together and fell in love from there on, making history as one of the most influential couples of our time. While it’s romantic and sweet, the setting is just as charming as it was filmed in Chicago, including the ice cream parlor where they had their first kiss. It is a small-scale romance that is simple, but has incredible heart and captures the smallest details of the biggest and brightest personalities.
“Roman Holiday”
This classic romantic comedy starring the imitable Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck is one you can watch repeatedly, and then cry at the ending wondering what fate holds for these two lovebirds. In this timeless favorite, Hepburn is at her transcendent best as the sheltered princess who falls for an American reporter while in Rome.
A newcomer at the time Hepburn gives that old school romance a memorable reality it has rarely seen on film before and quite frankly, hasn’t really been imitated since.
“The Light Between Oceans”
A heart-breaking drama about fate, love, moral dilemmas and the lengths to which a couple will go to see their dreams realized, The Light Between Oceans finds a couple Tom and Isabel, played by real-life loves, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, living off the coast of Western Australia looking forward to starting a family. But their happiness is soon blemished by their inability to have a child together. As fate would have it, one washes ashore in a boat, but as man of ethics and principle, Tom is torn between reporting the lost child or losing the love of his life.
This film is not only prettily shot and boasts a talented cast, but it explores what makes a mother, a healthy relationship and a woman’s unrequited maternal passion.
“Under the Tuscan Sun”
Nothing says summer like heading out to a beautiful oasis overseas and indulging in the beauty of an Italian getaway. After a woman’s “perfect life” is detoured by an unexpected event, she is left depressed, picking up the pieces. But upon the advice of her best friend, she impulsively buys a villa in Tuscany and decides that stepping outside her comfort zone is the best route in order to change her life.
Starring Diane Lane in one of the most awe-inspiring backdrops for a romantic comedy, the film has its sweet, introspective moments of reflection, plenty of romance and poses the scenario for second chances — very handsome, sexy second chances.
