In this blog post, I will examine the genre characteristics of romantic films and the reasons why we relate to them. I will also discuss the conventions of the romantic film genre and the unique expressive techniques found within it, focusing on the themes of love and memory, the relationships between characters, the narrative structure, and the ending as depicted in Director Wong Kar-wai’s ‘2046’.
The Genres and Characteristics of Romantic Films
“Romantic film” is a term we commonly use in the context of cinema. Derived from “melodrama,” it refers to works that primarily revolve around emotional narratives. Such films are called romantic films, and the term “sentimental movie” is sometimes used to emphasize their sentimental nature. The primary subject matter in melodramas is love—the very thing that immediately comes to mind when we think of the genre. Among these, love stories between men and women have long formed the core of melodramas. Since the expression of human emotions is a key genre characteristic of melodramas, in a broad sense, the nature of melodrama can even be found in stories such as ancient myths and legends.
Because romantic films deal with human emotions, opinions are divided even among film theorists as to whether they can be considered a distinct genre. While some argue that “romantic film” constitutes a distinct genre, others contend that it is difficult to classify it as such. This difference stems from the fact that romantic films often blend with other genres. This is because, in reality, most films contain scenes that depict characters’ emotions. However, if we refuse to recognize the melodrama as a distinct genre solely for this reason, the very meaning of genre classification could become ambiguous. Film genres are not fixed frameworks established from the outset; rather, they have been formed over the course of cinema’s development by grouping works with similar narratives and narrative structures into a single category. Therefore, I believe there is no significant issue with recognizing the melodrama as a distinct genre.
Research on romantic films in the West has developed primarily through auteurist studies—which analyze a director’s body of work—and feminist perspectives, rather than studies focused on the genre itself. It was not until the early 1970s that romantic films began to receive serious academic attention in the West. Prior to that, romantic films were not fully recognized as legitimate subjects of serious film studies because they were perceived within the film industry as entertainment primarily produced for and consumed by women. However, directors of romantic films gradually began to be studied within the framework of auteur theory, and feminist film scholars in the Anglo-American world came to reevaluate romantic films—long considered a quintessentially female genre—as a socioculturally significant phenomenon. They viewed romantic films as a space of gender politics where the conflict between female desire and the patriarchy that suppresses it is revealed. Furthermore, they focused their analyses on the patriarchal ideology depicted in these films and the pleasure experienced by female audiences while watching them.
A closer examination of the genre characteristics of romantic films reveals the following: stereotyped and unchanging character traits; polarized characterizations and emotional conflicts; event-driven narrative structures; an emphasis on chance and fate; domestic and private settings; a strong sense of tragedy; the glorification of love and morality; and, running through all these elements, the value of maintaining the existing social order.
First, the characters in romantic films are typified in a way that makes them easily recognizable rather than complex. They often possess relatively fixed personalities, both psychologically and morally. The relationships between characters are also arranged in extreme terms; for example, conflict becomes distinct when a villainous character appears in opposition to a virtuous one. In most cases, the primary conflict between characters centers on emotional confrontations, such as romantic issues or love triangles.
The plot unfolds not so much through the characters’ own will but rather through the occurrence of events, with chance playing a significant role in the process. Rather than actively taking steps to resolve conflicts on their own, the characters are heavily influenced by their given circumstances and events. While the characters’ encounters are usually coincidental, their love is portrayed as fated. The characters’ flaws are either innate or difficult to overcome through their own efforts, and the resolution of conflicts is often brought about by chance events or fateful circumstances rather than individual effort. As this emphasis on chance and fateful arrangements takes center stage, the narrative sometimes fails to fully explain the causal relationships between events or the characters’ motivations.
A prime example illustrating these narrative characteristics is ‘Romeo and Juliet’. This work, which embodies the characteristics of a classical melodrama, depicts how a love that begins with a chance encounter leads to tragedy due to environmental factors—namely, the fact that the lovers belong to families that are sworn enemies. It clearly illustrates the typical structure of a melodrama in that external obstacles, which are difficult to overcome through individual will alone, create the tragedy of love. The fact that this narrative structure continues to be repeated even centuries later demonstrates just how important elements of chance and fate are in melodramas.
Another characteristic of romantic films is that the story is primarily set in private spaces. Romantic films unfold around emotional conflicts that arise within the living spaces of individuals or families. Thus, the world depicted in romantic films is generally the everyday world in which we live. Considering that the emotion of love itself originates in the most private realm of human existence, it is only natural that the settings of romantic films focus on personal and familial spaces.
The endings can generally be divided into two categories. One emphasizes unhappiness and tragedy, with the characters experiencing twists and anguish throughout the course of their love story; the other is a “happy ending,” in which the characters ultimately find happiness after overcoming various conflicts. While traditional Hollywood romantic films tended to resolve conflicts and conclude with a happy ending, Korean romantic films have also featured works that emphasize catastrophic endings, such as punishment or death.
Romantic films take as their central theme love that is infringed upon or hindered by social norms, moral conventions, or personal desires—love that cannot be easily fulfilled. Therefore, the major obstacles and arduous twists and turns that must be endured to achieve love are indispensable elements of the genre. No matter how beautiful or pure a love may be, if it is achieved without any constraints or obstacles, it strays far from the typical dramatic structure of a romantic film. From this perspective, it is natural to understand why affairs or forbidden love frequently appear as themes in romantic films. Works dealing with same-sex love can also be examined within this romantic framework if they focus on situations where love is made difficult due to social prejudice or restrictions.
The emotional characteristics of romantic films can also be found in the exaggeration of emotions. In particular, tragic emotions such as sadness and melancholy are often expressed intensely. These emotions are primarily triggered by love that is difficult to achieve and the obstacles encountered along the way. To heighten these emotions, romantic films utilize various devices, such as a child searching for their mother, melancholic music, tears, torrential rain, and snowy winter nights. These elements serve to reveal the characters’ emotions more clearly and help the audience immerse themselves in those feelings.
Why Do We Watch Romantic Films?
Why do we watch romantic films? My answer to this is simple: the romantic genre itself brings our everyday emotions to the surface and allows us to easily empathize with them.
One of the most precious emotions we experience in life is love between people. Love is the greatest emotion, but it is equally difficult to attain and sustain. In reality, just as in movies, many people are unable to find love due to economic and social circumstances beyond their control. And people long to find answers to the love they have been unable to achieve.
That is why I believe we watch romantic films—to watch protagonists who represent our own situations and seek answers about love within their stories. Of course, there can be no clear-cut answer to love. However, the mere fact that there is something that can help us understand and empathize with our own emotions can be a great source of strength for people. The joys and sorrows of love, the heartbreak and longing experienced by characters in movies are not so different from the emotions we’ve experienced in real life. That is why, when we watch romantic films, we feel the characters’ sorrow as if it were our own, and we sometimes recall our own past experiences through their love stories.
Love isn’t everything to us, but we cannot live without it. Perhaps through romantic films, we seek to soothe our own wounds and rekindle the desire to love someone once again.
Wong Kar-wai’s “2046” from the Perspective of Romantic Cinema
“2046” is a film directed by Wong Kar-wai and can be considered a sequel to his previous work, “In the Mood for Love.” Above all, this film is a story about memory. I believe it depicts the feeling of wanting to erase memories of love, yet simultaneously realizing that those memories can never be erased entirely. “2046” explores four main love stories through the relationships of various characters. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen its predecessor, “In the Mood for Love,” but that didn’t seem to hinder my understanding of “2046” much.
First, let’s look at the film’s overall plot.
Chow, a journalist and writer, intends to stay in Room 2046 of a hotel, a place that brings back memories of his former lover, Su Li-chen. However, a woman has died in that room, so Chow has no choice but to stay in the adjacent Room 2047. A few days later, Bai Ling, a high-class call girl, checks into Room 2046, and Chow begins to take an interest in her. Their relationship starts as a playful, physical encounter, but as time passes, it develops into Bai Ling’s one-sided love. However, Chow constantly meets other women and treats Bai Ling no differently from them. It seems that no one, except for his former lover Su Li-chen, can find a place in his heart.
After Bai Ling leaves, Chow begins writing a novel about the futuristic city “2046” with the help of Wang Jingwen, the hotel owner’s daughter. Wang Jingwen is a woman who suffered deep emotional and physical wounds after being forced to break up with the man she loved due to her parents’ opposition. Chow gradually grows closer to her as he helps her reunite with her boyfriend. And while writing his novel set in the future, he begins to recall his own past. Among those memories is Su Li-chen (Gong Li), a gambler he once loved. These are bittersweet memories of Su Li-chen, who could not accept him after he left and then returned. As he reminisces about her, Chow also begins to develop feelings for Wang Jingwen, who—just like his past self—has no time to look back on other loves.
Having experienced three unfulfilled loves in reality, Chow tells the story of yet another painful love in the novel he is writing. In the novel, people live with microchips implanted in their bodies, and androids struggle with issues related to memory and emotional responses. Those who remain stuck in the past all board a train bound for 2046 in hopes of recovering their lost memories. However, no one is certain whether they can truly regain their memories there, as it is said that no one who has gone to 2046 has ever returned.
On the train to 2046, a Japanese man named Tak meets the android WJW1967—who possesses a beautiful and warm body—and falls in love with her. Tak asks her to leave with him, but she merely looks away. Although her body is with Tak, it seems as if his earnest plea does not reach her at all.
In this way, while the film’s overall narrative appears to follow the formula of a romantic drama under the theme of love, its structure takes a unique approach. It interweaves the story from the novel written by Chow among the various love stories unfolding in reality. Through this novel, Chow expresses the story he truly wants to tell—and, by extension, the message the director wishes to convey to the audience.
In ‘2046’, there is no clear-cut conflict between good and evil, as is typical in conventional romantic dramas. However, the emotional conflict between a man who cannot forget his love and a woman who loves him but grieves because her love is unrequited forms one axis of the narrative. The relationship between characters who love each other yet cannot accept that love reveals the tragedy of the romantic film in a way distinct from the conflict between good and evil.
In terms of narrative structure, “2046” does not strictly follow the typical romantic film format. The film weaves together four different love stories; among them, the love story of Wang Jingwen, the hotel owner’s daughter, most closely resembles the structure of a typical romantic film. Forced to part ways with the man she loves due to her family’s opposition, she falls into despair—a classic romantic film character who cannot achieve love through personal will alone. Furthermore, the element of chance plays a significant role in the story, as Wang Jingwen grows close to Chow, and their relationship influences the process by which he conceives and writes his novel ‘2046’.
The plot device in which Bai Ling coincidentally ends up staying in the room right next to Chow’s also reveals the element of chance—a narrative characteristic of romantic films. If Bai Ling had not stayed in that room, neither her relationship with Chow nor her heartbreaking romance would have begun. In that this love, which began with such a chance encounter, ultimately fails to come to fruition, Bai Ling’s story serves as another pillar illustrating the tragic ending typical of romantic films.
In particular, the story within the novel written by Chau shows that his love is never truly forgotten but remains tucked away in a corner of his memory. Tak asks the android he loves to run away with him, but she does not respond to his request. She appears unable to break free from another love that lingers in her own memories. The android created by Chau also serves as a reminder of the women from his past. In his novel, past loves—though long gone—continue to dominate his present emotions. No matter how hard Chau tries to start a new romance, those past memories continue to influence him, regardless of his will.
An ancient Eastern tale appears in both the opening and closing scenes of the film. It is the story of someone who, unable to confide a secret to anyone, carves a hole in a tree, whispers their secret into it, and then seals the hole to keep it hidden forever. I believe this story symbolically represents Chao’s heartbreaking love. It is a love that he cannot easily speak of to anyone, yet cannot completely forget, so he hides it away only within his own memory. Sealing away a memory does not mean the emotions it holds disappear. Rather, that memory remains in Chow’s heart, standing in the way of his new love.
A key element of romantic films is the major obstacles and turbulent twists and turns that must be overcome to achieve love. However, in “2046,” such obstacles are not clearly evident on the surface. Of course, Wang Jingwen’s love faces an external obstacle: her parents’ opposition. But what stands in the way of Chow’s love is not something visible, like family opposition or social constraints.
The more one reflects on this film, the more one realizes that a significant obstacle clearly exists for him as well. It is the love from the past—one he cannot bring back no matter how much he wants to—and his own heart, which is bound to remember that love forever. For Chow, his past love is a thing of the past, but the memory of it has not yet ended. The way Chow remains stuck in the past even as he meets new people reveals what his greatest obstacle is to starting a new relationship. In that sense, “2046” can be described as a romantic drama that focuses more on the memories and emotions lingering in the human heart than on external circumstances that hinder love.
Rethinking the Generic Significance of Romantic Films Through ‘2046’
Analyzing the genre conventions of romantic films through ‘2046’ reveals that traditional romantic films primarily deal with the theme of romantic love and often emphasize a woman’s pure devotion to a man and the sublimity of that devotion. Underlying these themes are conservative, status-quo-oriented values. Romantic films also serve to reinforce the meaning of family and the patriarchal system through endings that conform to social order and morality. Furthermore, as the settings of romantic films are primarily concentrated in private spaces, social contradictions are often replaced by issues of human love and understanding, ultimately appearing as personal problems.
Typically, traditional Hollywood family romantic films center on the home as the primary setting, creating conflict through romantic relationships and discord among family members. However, in most cases, the story concludes by restoring the existing order through reconciliation within the family and a happy ending. In other words, it restores the values of the patriarchal family through a closed narrative structure that moves from balance to imbalance and then back to balance.
However, Wong Kar-wai’s ‘2046’ possesses characteristics distinct from these traditional romantic films. This film is imbued with a love story unique to Director Wong Kar-wai. Of course, it faithfully follows the key elements of romantic films—such as the characters’ emotional conflicts, chance encounters, unrequited love, and tragic endings. Yet, the way the story unfolds offers a distinctly unique charm.
I was particularly struck by the technique of filling the screen with close-ups of the characters’ faces and unfolding scenes at a slow, deliberate pace. I believe this directorial choice reflects the director’s intention to convey the characters’ inner worlds in greater detail. Even without explicitly explaining the characters’ emotions through dialogue or plot events, their feelings are conveyed solely through their faces, expressions, and the slow-moving visuals. Among all the romantic films I’ve seen so far, Wong Kar-wai’s films stand out as particularly stylish and delicate.
There are countless film genres in the world, and the romantic drama is one of them. And even within the romantic drama genre, it goes without saying that each film has its own distinct characteristics. I don’t think all romantic dramas can—or need to—follow a set formula. “2046” also possesses the typical elements of a romantic drama while expressing love and memory in a way that is uniquely Wong Kar-wai’s.
Through this analysis of film genres, I was once again reminded that while each film has its own distinct style of expression and narrative structure, “genre” refers to the process of identifying common elements within them and grouping them into a single category. Ultimately, genre is merely a conceptual framework created to help us understand and appreciate films. While it is meaningful to view a film with that framework in mind, I believe what matters most is watching the film yourself and engaging with the work through your own emotions and thoughts.
