Bold, intimate, and unapologetically raw, 9 Songs stands out for its explicit sexuality, minimalist storytelling, and emotionally distant take on modern relationships. Movies like it often strip romance down to physical connection, emotional ambiguity, and a near-documentary sense of realism. These films aren’t about fantasy or comfort they explore desire, loneliness, and intimacy without filters, letting silence and bodies speak as loudly as dialogue. If that approach intrigues you, let’s dive into the list.
Genre: Drama, Romance Country: France Language: French Runtime: 2h 14m Release date: 15th July 2015 Rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
(6.4/10)
Murphy is an American living in Paris who enters a highly sexually and emotionally charged relationship with the unstable Electra. Unaware of the seismic effect it will have on their relationship, they invite their pretty neighbor into their bed. Love is a movie from France in French, with a total 2h 14m runtime, released in 2015 with an average rating of 6.4 by 2,612 people. The movie made an estimated total of $249,083 in the box office.
Intimacy
Every Wednesday. She meets him once per week.
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Genre: Romance, Drama, Fantasy Country: France Language: English Runtime: 1h 59m Release date: 20th January 2001 Rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
(6.2/10)
Failed musician Jay abandoned his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon, a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day, Jay follows her and learns about her. This eventually disrupts their relationship. Intimacy is a movie from France in English, with a total 1h 59m runtime, released in 2001 with an average rating of 6.2 by 542 people. The movie made an estimated total of $2,672,527 in the box office.
Shortbus
Open your mind. And everything else.
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Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy Country: United States of America Language: English Runtime: 1h 41m Release date: 4th October 2006 Rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
(6.3/10)
In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality. Shortbus is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 41m runtime, released in 2006 with an average rating of 6.3 by 558 people. The movie made an estimated total of $5,557,564 in the box office.
Romance
Love is desolate. Romance is temporary. Sex is forever.
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Genre: Drama, Romance Country: France Language: French Runtime: 1h 39m Release date: 14th April 1999 Rating:
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
(5.5/10)
Frustrated by the lack of intimacy in her relationship, a young schoolteacher goes through a series of intimidating and often violent sexual partners. Romance is a movie from France in French, with a total 1h 39m runtime, released in 1999 with an average rating of 5.5 by 289 people. The movie made an estimated total of $3,885,642 in the box office.
The Brown Bunny
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Genre: Drama Country: United States of America Language: English Runtime: 1h 33m Release date: 14th November 2003 Rating:
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
(5.4/10)
Bud Clay races motorcycles in the 250cc Formula II class of road racing. After a race in New Hampshire, he has five days to get to his next race in California. During his road trip, he is haunted by memories of the last time he saw Daisy, his true love. The Brown Bunny is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 33m runtime, released in 2003 with an average rating of 5.4 by 261 people. The movie made an estimated total of $365,734 in the box office.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
Forget about love.
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Genre: Drama Country: Denmark Language: English Runtime: 1h 58m Release date: 25th December 2013 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(6.8/10)
A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music. Nymphomaniac: Vol. I is a movie from Denmark in English, with a total 1h 58m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.8 by 3,569 people. The movie made an estimated total of $13,545,832 in the box office.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
Forget about love.
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Genre: Drama, Mystery Country: Denmark Language: English Runtime: 2h 4m Release date: 25th December 2013 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(6.7/10)
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care. Nymphomaniac: Vol. II is a movie from Denmark in English, with a total 2h 4m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 6.7 by 3,074 people. The movie made an estimated total of $4,934,725 in the box office.
Blue Is the Warmest Color
To love.
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Genre: Romance, Drama Country: France Language: French Runtime: 3h 0m Release date: 9th October 2013 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(7.1/10)
Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself. Blue Is the Warmest Color is a movie from France in French, with a total 3h 0m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 7.1 by 4,784 people. The movie made an estimated total of $19,796,489 in the box office.
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other. Y Tu Mamá También is a movie from Mexico in Spanish, with a total 1h 46m runtime, released in 2001 with an average rating of 7.4 by 1,674 people. The movie made an estimated total of $33,600,000 in the box office.
Last Tango in Paris
When you see a love story, it's only a movie. When you feel it with every nerve in your body, it's a masterpiece.
Genre: Drama, Romance Country: Italy Language: Italian Runtime: 2h 9m Release date: 15th December 1972 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(6.9/10)
A recently widowed American begins an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman. Last Tango in Paris is a movie from Italy in Italian, with a total 2h 9m runtime, released in 1972 with an average rating of 6.9 by 1,310 people. The movie made an estimated total of $36,182,181 in the box office.
Lie with Me
Sex brought them together, now it could tear them apart.
Genre: Drama Country: Canada Language: English Runtime: 1h 33m Release date: 11th November 2005 Rating:
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
(5.2/10)
Happily unattached, the sexually voracious Leila satisfies her desires with a host of rapidly changing bed partners, unconcerned about the emotional consequences. But that all changes when she meets an artist looking for a deeper commitment. Lie with Me is a movie from Canada in English, with a total 1h 33m runtime, released in 2005 with an average rating of 5.2 by 297 people.
Weekend
A (sort of) love story between two guys over a cold weekend in October.
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Genre: Drama, Romance Country: United Kingdom Language: English Runtime: 1h 36m Release date: 23rd October 2011 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(7.3/10)
After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special. Weekend is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 36m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 7.3 by 555 people. The movie made an estimated total of $484,592 in the box office.
Five Times Two
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Genre: Drama, Romance Country: France Language: French Runtime: 1h 30m Release date: 1st September 2004 Rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
(6.4/10)
As young French couple Gilles and Marion officially separate, we see, in reverse order, the milestone moments in their relationship: Gilles revealing his unfaithfulness at a tense dinner party; Marion giving birth to their premature son while Gilles is elsewhere; Gilles and Marion's joyous wedding; and, finally, the fateful moment when they meet as acquaintances at an Italian beach resort, and their love affair begins. Five Times Two is a movie from France in French, with a total 1h 30m runtime, released in 2004 with an average rating of 6.4 by 168 people.
The Dreamers
Together nothing is impossible. Together nothing is forbidden.
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Genre: Drama, Romance Country: Italy Language: English Runtime: 1h 55m Release date: 10th October 2003 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(7.2/10)
When Isabelle and Theo invite Matthew to stay with them, what begins as a casual friendship ripens into a sensual voyage of discovery and desire in which nothing is off limits and everything is possible. The Dreamers is a movie from Italy in English, with a total 1h 55m runtime, released in 2003 with an average rating of 7.2 by 3,022 people. The movie made an estimated total of $15,100,000 in the box office.
Eyes Wide Shut
Cruise. Kidman. Kubrick.
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Genre: Drama, Thriller, Mystery Country: United Kingdom Language: English Runtime: 2h 39m Release date: 16th July 1999 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(7.5/10)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head. Eyes Wide Shut is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 2h 39m runtime, released in 1999 with an average rating of 7.5 by 6,767 people. The movie made an estimated total of $162,100,000 in the box office.
Closer
If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.
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Genre: Drama, Romance Country: United States of America Language: English Runtime: 1h 44m Release date: 3rd December 2004 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(6.8/10)
The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other. Closer is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 44m runtime, released in 2004 with an average rating of 6.8 by 3,653 people. The movie made an estimated total of $115,505,027 in the box office.
Shame
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Genre: Drama Country: United Kingdom Language: English Runtime: 1h 42m Release date: 2nd October 2011 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(6.9/10)
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control. Shame is a movie from United Kingdom in English, with a total 1h 42m runtime, released in 2011 with an average rating of 6.9 by 3,331 people. The movie made an estimated total of $3,909,002 in the box office.
In the Realm of the Senses
Never before had a man and a woman loved each other so intensely.
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Genre: Drama, Romance Country: Japan Language: Japanese Runtime: 1h 45m Release date: 15th September 1976 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(6.6/10)
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship. In the Realm of the Senses is a movie from Japan in Japanese, with a total 1h 45m runtime, released in 1976 with an average rating of 6.6 by 698 people. The movie made an estimated total of $7,650,000 in the box office.
Secretary
Assume the position.
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Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy Country: United States of America Language: English Runtime: 1h 51m Release date: 20th September 2002 Rating:
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
(6.8/10)
A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one. Secretary is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 51m runtime, released in 2002 with an average rating of 6.8 by 1,821 people. The movie made an estimated total of $9,300,000 in the box office.
All the Real Girls
Love is a puzzle. These are the pieces.
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Genre: Drama, Romance Country: United States of America Language: English Runtime: 1h 48m Release date: 14th February 2003 Rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
(5.9/10)
In a sleepy little mill town in North Carolina, Paul is the town Romeo. But when his best friend's sister returns home from boarding school, he finds himself falling for her innocent charm. In spite of her lack of experience and the violent protests of her brother, the two find themselves in a sweet, dreamy and all-consuming love. All the Real Girls is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 1h 48m runtime, released in 2003 with an average rating of 5.9 by 110 people. The movie made an estimated total of $548,712 in the box office.
Her
A Spike Jonze love story.
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Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Drama Country: United States of America Language: English Runtime: 2h 6m Release date: 18th December 2013 Rating:
★★★★★★★★☆☆
(7.8/10)
In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer, purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every need. To Theodore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all. Her is a movie from United States of America in English, with a total 2h 6m runtime, released in 2013 with an average rating of 7.8 by 14,981 people. The movie made an estimated total of $47,351,251 in the box office.
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Films in this vein tend to linger after the credits, not because of plot twists, but because of how honestly they portray connection and detachment. Like 9 Songs, they challenge traditional romance, favoring mood, vulnerability, and realism over neat resolutions, making them compelling choices for viewers drawn to provocative, emotionally open cinema.
