49 Best Long Distance Movies That Capture Love Across Miles
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Long-distance relationships are full of challenges, emotional reunions, and the kind of love that defies distance. Whether you’re missing your partner, looking for inspiration, or just in the mood for a heartfelt story, long distance movies capture the highs and lows of being apart.
From tearjerkers to uplifting romances, these films explore the unique struggles and triumphs of couples separated by miles but connected by love. If you’re in an LDR or just love a good romance, here are some of the best long distance movies to watch.
84 Charing Cross Road (1987) PG
84 Charing Cross Road is the true story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books that developed into a close friendship.
An Affair to Remember (1939)
Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, high-profile types both engaged to be married to other people, meet and fall in love during an ocean voyage. To test the depth of their commitment to each other, Grant and Kerr promise that, if they’re still in love at the end of six months, they will meet again at the top of the Empire State Building.
Armageddon (1998) PG-13
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, a hotshot team is assembled to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. Renowned driller Harry Stamper brings along his overconfident son in law A.J. who Harry thinks isn’t good enough for his daughter. A.J., father and daughter are separated while they embark on the mission.
Atonement (2007) R
A young 13 year old girl upon falling in love with her older sister’s suitor jealously accuses him of a crime he didn’t commit, changing the course of several lives. This is a lovely ldr movie that shows how hard it can be to love and wait for someone who may never actually come.
A Cinderella Story (2004) PG
Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Sam Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school’s Halloween dance.
A Modern Pride and Prejudice (2011)
Pride and Prejudice follows Elizabeth and her oldest sister Jane Bennet through trial and error of first impressions, timeless proposals & mistaken opinions.
A Very Long Engagement (2004) R
This is the story of a young woman’s relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
Battle Circus (1953)
Set in Korea and made during the war, this is the love story of a hard-bitten Army surgeon, and a new nurse. Through the unforeseen events of war, the lovers are temporarily separated but are eventually reunited again.
Beaches (1988) PG-13
CC and Hillary met as preteens on the beach in Atlantic City. They don’t see each other again until they’re in their mid-twenties, but they go through all of their adolescent angst together by writing letters.
Becoming Jane (2007) PG
Becoming Jane is a biographical portrait that depicts the early life of English author Jane Austen and her perpetual love and regret with a young Irishman named Thomas Langlois Lefroy.
Before Sunrise (1995) R
A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one romantic evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
Before Sunset (2004) R
Before Sunset takes place nine years after Jesse and Celine first met in “Before Sunrise”; now, they encounter one another on the French leg of Jesse’s book tour.
Before Midnight (2013) R
We meet Jesse and Celine nine years later in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.
Casablanca (1942) PG
Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
Cast Away (2000) PG-13
A FedEx executive must transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing on a deserted island. He survives by holding on to the memory of the woman he’s left behind.
Catfish (2010) PG-13
Young filmmakers document their colleague’s budding online friendship with a young woman and her family which leads to an unexpected series of discoveries. Warning: this is a very intense “thriller” documentary.
Christmas in Boston (2005) G
Gina and Seth have been pen pals for 13 years and now will have the chance to meet. Both used their best friend’s pictures to send to each other and now will let their friends meet. True love is found in the end for all.
Cold Mountain (2003) R
Ada and Inman, are two lovers separated by the Civil War for many years. In the waning days of the American Civil War, the wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.
Come Next Spring (1956)
Matt Ballot has returned home after 12 years of hard drinking in all 48 states. His wife managed to raise their 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son nicely without his help. Matt is considered a disgrace to the town he came from and now he finds himself trying to win the love of his children, his wife and the respect of the townspeople.
Dear John (2010) PG-13
A romantic movie that tells the story of John, an angry rebel who dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life–until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) R
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic dramedy science fiction film about an estranged couple who both have each other erased from their memories. It is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.
Ever After (1998) PG-13
One of three daughters of a man who dies and leaves her fate in the hands of a conniving stepmother, Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince, but he’s far more intrigued with Danielle’s intelligence and beauty–not to mention her way with a sword and fist.
Forever Young (1997) PG
This romantic fantasy features Daniel, a daring test pilot who is deeply distraught by the apparent death of his girlfriend, Helen, in 1939. Feeling little reason to live, he volunteers for a pioneering cryogenics experiment and is thawed out 50 years later by two young boys. Daniel desperately needs to know if Helen really died in 1939, and he discovers that love has a way of surviving a half-century leap in time.
Frequency (2000) PG-13
The relationship: The love between a father and son defies all of Einstein’s laws.
An action packed long distance relationship of a family nature through time.
Going the Distance (2010) R
A fun and easy romantic comedy centered on a guy and a gal who try to keep their love alive as they shuttle back and forth between New York and San Francisco to see one another.
Legends of the Fall (1994) R
Legends of the fall is an epic tale of three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of 1900s USA and how their lives are affected by nature, history, war, and love.
Life In A Day (2011) PG-13
This movie is a documentary shot by film-makers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the twenty-fourth of July, 2010. Many of these people spent the day falling in love. Among them, an army wife spends an hour getting ready for a Skype date with her husband only to break down in tears after they lose their connection.
Like Crazy (2011) PG-13
A young British college student falls for an American student. They are separated when she’s banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa. A must watch movie for any LDR couple.
Love Affair (1939)
A man and a woman, fall madly in love while traveling, indulge in a brief but intense affair, then agree to part and sort out their feelings. They are to meet again at the top of the Empire State Building if their feelings persist, but a series of unfortunate circumstances threatens to keep the lovers apart.
Mammoth (2009)
While on a trip to Thailand, a successful American businessman tries to radically change his life. Back in New York, his wife and daughter find their relationship with their live-in Filipino maid changing around them. At the same time, in the Philippines, the maid’s family struggles to deal with her absence.
Mary and Max (2009)
An animated tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.
Message in a Bottle (1999) PG-13
Based on a bestselling book by Nicholas Sparks, the movie tells the heart wrenching story of a man who has lost his wife. He opens his heart out to her in a letter which he romantically seals into a bottle and casts it into the sea. A jogging woman comes across the bottle, falls in love with the letter and undertakes a trip to North Carolina to get to know him intimately. This is the story of their romance which has LDR elements within it.
Miss Potter (2006) PG
This is the story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children’s book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”, and her struggle for love, happiness and success.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) PG-13
Sam, as a member of the Boy Scout troop attending summer camp, is attending the local production of the Noah story. He has a compulsion to seek out someone backstage. He finds Suzy, in a dressing room preparing for her role as one of the birds. They have an instant connection. Before Sam is tossed from the dressing room, Suzy and Sam manage to exchange addresses. Over the course of the fall, winter and spring, they write to each other.
My Favorite Wife (1940)
It’s already established from the beginning that a married couple have been separated for 7 years. The wife returns (she was presumed dead) the day her husband re-marries. Complications ensue.
P.S. I Love You (2007) PG-13
A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
Reds (1981) R
Reds is the true-life story of John Reed, an American journalist who was present in Russia during the Revolution. It’s a long movie by Warren Beatty, starring Beatty, Dianne Keaton and a host of others. They are lovers who are separated and then re-united.
Serendipity (2001) PG-13
A couple reunite years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they’d end up together.
Sleepless In Seattle (1993) PG
Sleepless in Seattle is the story of a widowed man whose son decided to call a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a partner which then results in a hopelessly romantic LDR love story.
Somewhere in Time (1980) PG
Somewhere in Time is the story of a young writer who sacrifices his life in the present to find happiness in the past, where true love awaits him.
The Lake House (2006) PG
They both live in the same city, in the same house but their relationship is far from close. Lake House is a movie that shows how sometimes time, not distance can literally be the biggest obstacle in a relationship.
The Notebook (2004) PG-13
A poor and passionate young man falls in love with a rich young woman and gives her a sense of freedom. They soon are separated by their social differences.
The Other End of the Line (2008) PG-13
A telling love story between an Indian girl and a young American, who fall in love with each other by talking on the phone and then have to deal with the girl’s parents, among many other challenges, to make the relationship work.
The Other Side of Heaven (2001) PG
John Groberg, a farm kid from Idaho Falls, crosses an ocean to become a missionary in the remote and exotic Tongan islands during the 1950’s leaving his girlfriend behind. They exchange letters throughout his travels.
The Poet (2007) R
At the dawn of World War 2, a Rabbi’s daughter and a disenchanted German soldier fall in love and are separated by the war. They struggle on a perilous journey to find one another.
The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009) PG-13
A romantic drama about a Chicago librarian with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time-travel and the complications it creates for his marriage.
Two Brothers (2004) G
Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.
Wicker Park (2004) PG-13
A young Chicago advertising executive believes a woman he sees in a café is his long-lost love. His conviction leads to obsession, as he puts his life on hold to trail her.
You’ve Got Mail (1998) PG
You’ve got mail is one of the first and most popular movies to show the use of internet in maintaining a long distance relationship, and on top of that a very fun to watch one. It’s the story of two business rivals who hate each other at the office but fall in love over the internet. For a treat, you can also watch “The Shop around the Corner” (1940) which is the original movie from which “You’ve Got Mail” was derived.
Long-distance relationships aren’t easy, but the right movie can make the distance feel a little smaller. Whether you’re looking for a heart-wrenching drama, a feel-good romance, or a story that reminds you why love is worth the wait, these long distance movies capture the emotions, struggles, and triumphs of being apart. So grab some popcorn, queue up a film, and let these stories remind you that true love knows no distance.