In the ever-growing Asian entertainment scene, Korean, Japanese and Chinese movies and dramas have had the world wrapped for long. Now, Taiwanese cinema, too, is garnering attention and appreciation from different corners. With different genres of action, drama, comedy and more underlying love stories, some of the best Taiwanese romance movies with high IMDb ratings will surely entertain you.
Romantic Taiwanese movies cover sub-genres like boy love, college romance, estranged lovers and rom-coms. Outstanding performances and adept direction by filmmakers like Ang Lee, Edward Yang, Tsai Ming-liang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, have helped Taiwanese films paint a whole new image of the country and its portrayal of love. From Vive L’amour (1994) to Your Smiling Face (1979) and Your Name Engraved Herein (2020), each romantic film on this list has seven or more ratings, attesting to their critical appeal.
However, there are popular films that may not have high IMDb ratings but are incredibly binge-worthy. For instance, the light-hearted romantic-comedy My Best Friend’s Breakfast (2005) has an IMDb rating of 5.9. This Taiwanese movie features a love quadrangle between highschoolers Xiang Wei-xin (played by Moon Lee), her attractive best friend Fang Qi-ran (played by Jean Ho), guitarist Zhang Yuan-shou (played by Edison Song) and swim star Tao You-quan (played by Eric Chou). The theme of adolescent love, whimsical fantasies and heartbreaks make it a cosy watch.
Check out some of the best romantic Taiwanese movies, ranked by IMDb
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Eternal Summer (2006)
IMDb rating: 7
Directed by: Leste Chen
Cast: Chang Joseph, Chang Ray, Yeung Kate
Movie duration: 1 hour 36 minutes
Synopsis: Two inseparable best friends Shou Heng (Chang Joseph) and Cheng Shing (Chang Ray) explore love and sexuality as they get to know more about each other growing up. However, things change when a new girl joins their school and falls for one of the boys, leading to troubles in their bond.
Image: Courtesy Eternal Summer/ IMDb
Man in Love (2021)
IMDb rating: 7
Directed by: Yin Chen-Hao
Cast: Chiu Roy, Xu Tiffany, Bai Xiao-ying
Movie duration: 1 hour 55 minutes
Synopsis: Ah Cheng (Chiu) is a good-natured debt collector who is loud and vociferous but is willing to help anyone in need. When he comes across Hao Ting (Xu), he falls in love with her and is deeply moved by how she cares for her ailing father. He learns Hao is under a lot of debt and devices a unique debt-repaying method. She must go on dates with him in exchange for a loan reduction. But where will this ultimately lead them both?
Trivia: This romantic Taiwanese movie is the remake of the 2014 South Korean film of the same name.
My Missing Valentine (2020)
IMDb rating: 7.2
Directed by: Chen Yu-Hsun
Cast: Lee Patty, Liu Guan-ting
Movie duration: 1 hour 59 minutes
Synopsis: Hsiao Chi (Lee) lives in a timeframe that is a bit ahead of others. She works at the post office and does everything so quickly that she’s always ahead of others. At the brink of turning 30, she longs for romance. However, things look up for her when a handsome man asks her out for Valentine’s Day. But when she wakes up the next day, Valentine’s Day has already passed.
Trivia: This supernatural fantasy romantic Taiwanese movie was remade into a Japanese film of the same name in 2023. It is also known as One Second Ahead and One Second Behind.
Awards won: The film won five Golden Horse Awards including Best Narrative Feature, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Image: Courtesy My Missing Valentine/IMDb
What Time is it There? (2001)
IMDb rating: 7.3
Directed by: Tsai Ming-liang
Cast: Lee Kang-Sheng, Chen Shiang-Chyi
Movie duration: 1 hour 59 minutes
Synopsis: The film follows two parallel narratives — one revolves around the tragic life of watch-seller Hsiao-Kang (Lee), and the other, around Shiang-Chyi (Chen), a young woman who buys a wristwatch from Hsiao-Kang ahead of travelling to Paris. As the two meet, he becomes infatuated with her and goes on a mission to set every clock in Taipei to Parisian time. While he watches François Truffaut’s Les 400 Coups, she strangely meets the film’s now-ageing actor Jean-Pierre Leaud in Paris.
Awards won: Tsai won a Special Jury Award at the 2001 Golden Horse Film Festival. The film was also nominated for the Palme d’Or at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Image: Courtesy What Time is it There/IMDb
Apolitical Romance (2013)
IMDb rating: 7.3
Directed by: Hsieh Chun-yi
Cast: Chang Bryan, Lu Huang, Qian De-men, Lu Xue-feng
Movie duration: 1 hour 29 minutes
Synopsis: This cross-cultural and transnational romance follows Chin Lang (Huang) as she visits Taiwan. Here, she meets a local boy A-Zheng (Chang) who helps her locate her grandmother’s first love from six decades ago. Despite their cultural differences, barriers begin to crumble as they forge an emotional bond. Whether the representatives of the two countries are able to unite makes this a heart-warming film.
Image: Courtesy Apolitical Romance/ IMDb
IMDb rating: 7.3
Directed by: Liu Kuang-hui
Cast: Chen Edward, Tseng Jing-Hua, Leon Dai
Movie duration: 1 hour 29 minutes
Synopsis: Set in the 1980s when Taiwan had just gotten rid of martial law, two students, Birdy Wang (Tseng) and Chang Jia-han (Chen), come across each other through their school band and fall in love. Their relationship is exposed to society’s homophobic scorn and constant family pressure. Meanwhile, Birdy meets another girl, but his true love cannot be suppressed.
Trivia: One of the best Taiwanese movies of all time, it was released shortly after the country legalised same-sex marriage. Your Name Engraved Herein became one of the highest-grossing and most critically acclaimed films in Taiwan.
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Vive L’amour (1994)
IMDb rating: 7.4
Directed by: Tsai Ming-liang
Cast: Chen Chao-jung, Lee Kang-sheng, Yang Kuei-Mei
Movie duration: 1 hour 58 minutes
Synopsis: This slow-paced romantic drama depicts the themes of alienation and isolation in Taipei’s urban dwelling. It follows the lives of three city-dwellers who unknowingly share a supposedly empty apartment. May Lin (Yang), a beautiful realtor, and her lover Ah-jung (Chen) use it for sexual activities while a suicidal funeral salesman Hsiao-kang (Lee) has stolen the keys to use the apartment as a retreat. Although rare, they cross paths in a series of tragicomic erotic situations but hardly develop personal feelings.
Awards won: This Taiwanese movie won Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Sound Effects at the 1994 Golden Horse Awards. It also bagged the Golden Lion and FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Hear Me (2009)
IMDb rating: 7.4
Directed by: Cheng Fen-fen
Cast: Peng Eddie, Chen Ivy, Chen Michelle
Movie duration: 1 hour 49 minutes
Synopsis: This feel-good romantic Taiwanese movie is about the love story of Tian-kuo (Ivy Peng), a young delivery man who meets the beautiful Yang Yang (Ivy Chen) at the swimming contest where she is cheering for her sister Xiao Peng (Michelle Chen). Yang is hard of hearing and the way Tian-kuo tries subtly to get close to her and win her heart makes it a perfect romantic film. Plus, the close bond between the two sisters adds another layer to the plot.
Trivia: The film is being remade in Korean, titled Hear Me: Our Summer, and is expected to be released in 2024.
Image: Courtesy Hear Me/ IMDb
Secret (2007)
IMDb rating: 7.5
Directed by: Chou Jay
Cast: Chou Jay, Gwei Lun-Mei, Alice Tseng
Movie duration: 1 hour 49 minutes
Synopsis: In this cosy high school romance, Ye Xiang-lun (Chou) is a talented piano major who is recently enrolled at the Tamkang Secondary School, where his father is also a teacher. On his first day, he hears a strange melody on the piano and is drawn toward it. A mysterious girl, Lu Xiao-yu (Gwei), is seen playing the tune; when asked about it, she says it is a secret and evades the question. Over time, the two develop a strong friendship and soon fall in love. However, their relationship hits a rough patch when she sees Ye kissing another girl. Since then, the mystery around Lu only intensifies. Who is Lu Xiao-yu?
Trivia: This romantic Taiwanese movie marks the directorial debut of pop star Jay Chou. Besides being the male lead, he is also the co-writer and composed its original music.
Awards won: It won four Golden Horse Awards, including Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year and Best Original Film Song.
Image: Courtesy Secret/ IMDb
The Wedding Banquet (1993)
IMDb rating: 7.6
Directed by: Ang Lee
Cast: Chao Wiston, Chin May, Mitchell Lichtenstein
Movie duration: 1 hour 46 minutes
Synopsis: Gao Wai-tung (Chao) is a gay Taiwanese-American living happily with his partner Simon (Lichtenstein) in Manhattan. Their romance reaches a screeching halt when Wai-tung’s parents pressurise him to get married. To satisfy them, Simon and Wai-tung decide to find the latter a bride. They strike a deal with Wei Wei (Chin), a woman from Mainland China looking for a way to get a green card. Things go out of hand when Wai-tung’s parents insist on a grand banquet and visit the supposed romantic couple. But what will happen when Wei develops a real crush on Wai-tung and wants a proper wedding?
Awards won: The romantic comedy movie won five 1993 Golden Horse awards including Best Director and Best Feature Film. It was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1994 Oscars and Golden Globes.
Image: Courtesy The Wedding Banquet/ © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved/ IMDb
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
IMDb rating: 8.2
Directed by: Yang Edward
Cast: Chen Chang, Yang Lisa, Chang Kuo-Chu
Movie duration: 3 hours 57 minutes
Synopsis: A crime romance Tawainese movie, A Brighter Summer Day is inspired by a real-life murder case that shook the country. It follows a young boy Xiao Si’r (Chen) who has failed a test and is admitted to a night school. Here, two warring youth gangs dominate the students and although Xiao is not a part of either, his girlfriend Ming (Yang) gets involved with members of one group. This results in a struggle for position and love, ultimately seeing a bloody end.
Trivia: It is one of the best Taiwanese movies with a sweet love story and has a 100 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Image: Courtesy A Brighter Summer Day/ IMDb
Your Smiling Face (1979)
IMDb rating: 8.2
Directed by: Tu Chung-Hsun
Cast: Hu Sibelle, Chang Kuo-Chu
Movie duration: 1 hour 29 minutes
Synopsis: Qi Ying (Hu) is a talented young musician whose partner died in an accident, leaving her grief-ridden. However, when another handsome entrepreneur tries to woo her, Qi realises she is carrying her lover’s child.
Image: Courtesy Your Smiling Face/ IMDb
(Hero image and feature image credit: My Missing Valentine/ IMDb)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
-What is the most famous Taiwanese drama?
Falling Into You, Love Now, Dear Ex and Behind Your Smile are some of the best Taiwanese dramas.
-What is the No. 1 romance movie?
Your Smiling Face, A Brighter Summer Day and The Wedding Banquet are among the highest-rated romance Taiwanese movies.
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Trinetra is an ardent foodie and bibliophile who writes about films, travel, food and lifestyle. As a writer and literature student, slam poetry and storytelling are her go to jam. When not working, Trinetra is busy looking for her next place to visit or binge-watching Instagram videos for travel inspiration.
