Plot: On their flight from New York to London, Hadley and Oliver fall in love with each other. However, they lose each other at customs and the possibility of ever meeting each other again seems improbable, but destiny may have a way of changing the odds.

KBZ’s Take: Love at First Sight mixes together a burgeoning romance brought on by fate with a very emotional and moving Family Drama. Even though it’s a recent film, it jumps into our Top 10 due to the great chemistry between Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) and Oliver (Ben Hardy).

While primarily a Romantic Comedy, the film is also bit of a Tearjerker. But it’s also one of the better subgenre films that shows all the seemingly random moments that can bring two people meant for each other together.

Where to Stream / Buy: Netflix

Plot: A woman who never ages, meets a man who changes her life.

KBZ’s Take: This is a high concept, Romantic Drama that is heavy on the Destiny theme. But it’s a great film that will make you think about age and the downsides to living with eternal youth.

Highlander (1984) explored similar pitfalls of eternal life and love, but The Age of Adaline is more focused on love and how a person’s destiny will never change. Highly recommended film of the subgenre for Valentine’s Day.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Fate & Destiny You Haven’t Seen #7, Best Fate and Destiny Films of All Time #16

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A recently widowed architect meets a waitress, and seemingly random events bring them together…but he is unaware of her condition.

KBZ’s Take: Another high concept Romantic Drama where Destiny plays a role in a rather unique way. Though the film presents the medical condition of Grace (Minnie Driver) in a straightforward manner, there is still the dramatic question of how Bob (David Duchovny) will react when he finds out.

Driver and Duchovny have great chemistry throughout the film and there’s a great supporting cast of Carroll O’Connor, Robert Loggia, David Alan Grier, Joley Richardson and Jim Belushi. Though this is a highly recommended film in both the Fate & Destiny Film subgenre and Romantic Drama subgenre you should also be prepared to shed some tears.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Fate & Destiny You Haven’t Seen #6, Best Fate and Destiny Films of All Time #18

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A man makes a wish to travel through time to reunite with his lost love.

KBZ’s Take: Yesterday Once More is a recent and relatively unknown film that deserves a broader audience. While the film is essentially a Time Travel Romance based on themes of fate and destiny, it also incorporates a unique Time Loop mechanism between Gu Yu Xuan (Arthur Chen) and Han Shu Yan (Zhou Ye).

The film has one of the better plot twists we have seen in these types of films and the film mainly works due to the chemistry between Chen and Ye. We admittedly have the film ranked higher than it probably should be, but it’s a great film to watch to better appreciate the life you have with your loved one even during difficult times. And viewer be warned – though this is a romantic film, it is also a devastating heartbreaker.

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Desperate to find his dad Sam a date, a young boy calls into a radio show and catches the attention of Annie, a journalist who wants to meet Sam atop the Empire State Building.

KBZ’s Take: Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks starred in two subgenre films in the 1990s with Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail (1998). While both films are classic romantic films with themes of fate and destiny, Sleepless has stronger themes of destiny and ranks higher.

The only reason we don’t have the film ranked higher on this specific list is that despite the film being a timeless classic, there are a few films with stronger subgenre themes. With that said, you can’t go wrong with this classic romantic film if you haven’t seen it in a while (or at all) for Valentine’s Day.

Additional Lists: Best Fate and Destiny Films of All Time #12

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: A man and a woman realize they are separated by two years of time when they exchange letters from different years in a mailbox.

KBZ’s Take: If the plot of this film sounds familiar it’s because it was remade as The Lake House (2006) starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. While The Lake House has its merits and its plot follows closely to the original film, we personally prefer the South Korean film it was based on.

Both films use the theme of Time Travel for a romance that develops between two people in separate time periods. Where Il Mare excels is with a ‘less is more’ approach to the time travel component and better performances from Sung-hyun (Lee Jung-jae) and Eun-joo (Jun Ji-hyun).

If you haven’t seen either film, we would strongly recommend watching Il Mare first before watching The Lake House. And if you’ve already seen The Lake House and enjoyed it (or even hated it), we would still also recommend watching Il Mare to see a much better representation of the overall story.

Additional Lists: More Fate & Destiny Films You Haven’t Seen #6, Best Fate & Destiny Films of All Time #25

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: While a shy teacher (Moritz Bleibtreu) travels to meet the woman he loves, he picks up a hitchhiker (Christiane Paul) who has feelings for him.

KBZ’s Take: If you enjoy romantic films that are not subtle with their themes and messaging, then you will love this film. In July is very open about its themes of fate and destiny with Juli (Christiane Paul) convinced Daniel (Moritz Bleibtreu) is her soulmate after talking with him for the first time. However, Daniel doesn’t share that feeling as he’s enamored with a Turkish woman he just met and feels his fate is to travel to Turkey to find her.

What follows is a Road Trip Comedy as these two very different personalities have competing objectives yet continually get separated only to find each other again (in very random situations). It’s a film most people will relate to with its themes of romantic fate and real-world scenarios. If you’ve ever been into someone, they’re not into you, but you’re convinced you both have a special connection, then you’ll be smiling throughout most of this film.

It’s romantic, it’s funny, it has some great themes of fate and destiny and it’s one of the best films of the subgenre you haven’t seen.

Additional Lists: More Fate & Destiny Films You Haven’t Seen #1, Best Fate & Destiny Films of All Time #6

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Man wills himself back in time to be with a woman who he sees in a portrait.

KBZ’s Take: Written by Richard Matheson (and based on his 1975 novel, Bid Time Return), this film uses an unusual method of time travel – hypnosis. Though it’s more of a Period Piece Romance than sci-fi, it’s an engaging film on its own merits. It’s also the best romantic film involving time travel with its themes of eternal love and destiny across different eras.

It’s a great story, it has an amazing score by John Barry (that you won’t be able to get out of your head), and it stars three great leads – Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and the always amazing Christopher Plummer. A forgotten gem of the early 80’s that shouldn’t be missed by fans of the Time Travel Films subgenre or Romantic Dramas subgenre. All we can say is that you’ll never look at a penny the same way again…

Additional Lists: Best Time Travel Romance Films #1, Top Films About Fate & Destiny You Haven’t Seen #5, Top Time Travel Films You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s #6, Top Time Travel Films You Haven’t Seen #10

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Tom, greeting-card writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely off-guard when his girlfriend, Summer, suddenly dumps him. He reflects on their 500 days together to try to figure out where their love affair went sour, and in doing so, Tom rediscovers his true passions in life.

KBZ’s Take: There are two primary drivers of this film that make it one of the best romantic films about fate and destiny.

First, the chemistry between Tom (Jospeh Gordon-Levitt) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is one of the best you’ll find in any romantic film. Their performances elevate the film as two individuals who might or might not be destined for love. They infuse their roles with passion and energy that emulates the real-life highs and lows of any relationship.

Second, the direction of Marc Webb and screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber create a non-linear film experience that starts with the end of the relationship and slowly reveals the key moments in the relationship that led to the end (beginning of the film).

This is one of the better films that explores the role of fate and destiny in one’s mind (within a relationship) where the universe might have something different, yet better, planned for you even in your deepest moments of despair.

Additional Lists: Best Fate & Destiny Films of All Time #8

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon

Plot: Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love and the choices that make a life.

KBZ’s Take: Most films of the subgenre utilize romanticized themes of fate and destiny with underlying fantasy elements. Past Lives is the opposite of those films as it takes a real-life and grounded view of two childhood friends that eventually realize they might be soulmates.

This is one great film that doesn’t shy away from showing the realities of life if a person you’re destined to be with suddenly shows up as you’ve moved on in life. We can’t think of a better film of the subgenre that also explores the thoughts and feelings of a married man who slowly comes to realize that his wife and her childhood friend might in fact be soulmates.

Past Lives made quite a few Best of 2023 film lists, and it’s quickly become one of the best films of the subgenre.

Additional Lists: More Fate & Destiny Films You Haven’t Seen #2, Best Fate & Destiny Films of All Time #3

Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon