Your Guide to Indie Valentine's Day Movies

I've got a great list of indies for you to try that are guaranteed to cure the over-indulgence of schmaltz—with or without a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

Before Sunrise and Before Sunset Double Feature
Hot off the premiere of Before Midnight at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, we can’t help but recommend the two prior films in the series. The intelligent romance of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) is completely accessible. Empty of sweeping moments, musical numbers, or epic battles to win the love of a damsel in distress, the film’s heart relies on the connection and conversations had by these two lovers. Their story is better than perfect—it’s realistic.

Monsoon Wedding
Almost every girl dreams of having the perfect wedding. And as we see in Mira Nair’s celebratory tale of an arranged marriage in modern India, the lives of the entire Verma household are turned upside down by the pending nuptials. From the wonderfully sweet story to the beautiful, bold colors of the wedding itself, you can’t help but feel like dancing a bhangra in your living room.

Ex-Girlfriends
The jungle that is the New York dating scene comes to life in this romantic comedy. Just when you think the city is full of strangers, you see how interconnected people’s love lives are. Graham (writer/director Alexander Poe) and his ex, Kate (Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter) are still friends, and he’s still in love with his other ex, Laura (Kristen Connolly). He tries to rekindle the romance with the now taken Laura, but he finds that getting back together with her is more than complicated than he expected. Just when we think our own dating lives are baffling, a movie romance comes along that can sympathize.

(500) Days of Summer
Uniting indie darlings Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) and Zooey Deschanel (Summer), this movie tells you from the very beginning “this is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story.” Yet, you just can’t help but get caught up rooting for their romantic success. Despite their inevitable ending (Don’t worry, we won’t tell you how), this movie makes even the biggest romantic cynic convert to true believer: New romance can blossom anywhere—even at an IKEA.

Like Crazy
Young love always feels so permanent and flawless in today’s genre of teen romance films. But when reflecting upon our own life-changing loves, Like Crazy helps us reminisce the bliss as well as the heartbreak we’ve all experienced. Here, British exchange student Anna (Felicity Jones) and her American paramour (Anton Yelchin) find themselves in a transatlantic romance after she overstays her visa and gets banned from entering the U.S. Their emotions are so palpable you may find yourself in need of a second box of tissues by the end.

The Pill
Cheating is always wrong. Regardless, we found ourselves rooting for Fred (Noah Bean) to end up with “the other woman,” Mindy (Rachel Boston), after a one-night stand. Finding himself in a loveless relationship with Nelly (Anna Chlumsky), he makes a drunken error in judgment when he sleeps with Mindy. Worried he has gotten Mindy pregnant, Fred spends the entire next day feigning interest in her to make sure she takes the morning after pill. What he doesn’t expect is to fall in love with her. Despite the heaviness of their introduction, the characters’ story reminds us that sometimes the right person comes along at the wrong time—and in the most bizarre of circumstances.