5) Amélie
When cozying up with a new friend (and potential partner) at the end of the first date, what better destination is there to go than Paris? Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s whimsical, upbeat romantic comedy, Amélie, is not just one of the most decadent love stories in recent memory, but a love letter to Paris’s picturesque and truly amicable qualities. Filled with magical realism, Amelie’s fantastic adventure flutters off the screen – and both parties of the relationship should find its charm hard to resist.
The film follows the eccentric title character (Audrey Tatou) and her buoyant eyes and sense of adventure as she means to do well and help others. As adorable as Tatou is, she also projects vulnerability as a woman still looking for her own fulfilling love story to take flight.
Amelie moves between the protagonist’s fantastical expectations and the dimmer realities of what life, love and heartbreak are actually like – emotions that anyone entering a new relationship can attest to feeling. It is full of sunshine, but Amelie does not descend into becoming too cutesy. Plus, if your date complains that he or she will not watch a film this marvelous due to its subtitles, you should be wary of continuing the relationship.