7 sci-fi romance movies to watch if you liked Netflix's Our Times
Our Times is a Mexican romantic science fiction movie about the life of Nora, a genius physicist, and her husband Héctor played by Benny Ibarra. It is a movie that takes place in 1966 when the couple construct a time machine and go back to 2025 to find themselves in a new world that makes them re-evaluate their way of thinking and relationship.
While Nora can effortlessly acclimate to a world in which her brain is admired, Héctor resists changing gender roles and a future world no longer subject to his patriarchal status. Their different responses to the future put their relationship to emotional and ideological testing.
As these two couples grapple with modern technology, fashion, and social unrest, Nora starts to revolt against the restraints she had endured before. Our Times contrasts their chauvinistic period with their more enlightened days to show how Nora is discovered.
If viewers enjoyed the sci-fi romance Our Times on Netflix, here are seven other movies that explore similar themes of time travel, emotional connection, and identity in a rapidly changing world.
Disclaimer: The following list is ranked in no particular order, and the opinions expressed belong solely to the author.
The Time Traveler’s Wife and 6 other sci-fi romance movies to watch like Netflix's Our Times
1) The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)
The Time Traveler's Wife is a science fiction romance movie based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger. Eric Bana plays the role of Henry DeTamble, a Chicago librarian with a rare genetic disorder which causes him to involuntarily travel through time. Rachel McAdams plays the role of Clare Abshire, a woman who has lived her life with multiple versions of Henry.
While Henry keeps leaping randomly through time randomly, his efforts at establishing a stable life and relationship with Clare are constantly thwarted.
Similar to Our Times, The Time Traveler's Wife marries romance and time travel to explore the emotional cost of teenaged chronologies. Both movies allude to how love and relationship are tried when partners view the world from divergent speeds and perspectives.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Netflix
2) I'm Your Man (2021)
I'm Your Man is a German romantic science fiction comedy movie directed by Emma Braslavsky and Maria Schrader.
The tale is about Alma, a research student, volunteering to test a humanoid robot named Tom that has been designed to be the perfect romantic relationship partner. During the experiment, Alma struggles to believe whether it is possible to be emotionally invested in a machine and what makes a relationship real.
Like Our Times, I'm Your Man plays around with love masquerading as advanced technology and thus evokes individual liberty, emotional growth, and redefined human relationships.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+
3) Her (2013)
Her is a romantic science fiction drama film directed by and written by Spike Jonze. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, a shy writer who becomes infatuated with Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), a smart AI operating system.
It is set in a futuristic Los Angeles and follows Theodore through his life after a catastrophic divorce. With his encounter with Samantha, a developing AI, he starts questioning intimacy, self-esteem, and what love is in a growing virtual world.
Like Our Times, Her also deals with issues of identity and emotional connection in an age of high technology. Both films question how evolving dynamics can disrupt or deepen emotional intimacy and personal growth.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Netflix
4) Comet (2014)
Comet is a romantic comedy movie directed and written by Sam Esmail and starring Justin Long and Emmy Rossum.
Dell and Kimberly's infidelity is told as it unfolds through fragmented, non-linear flashbacks over parallel universes and multiple possibilities. From acrimonious domesticity to brutal violence, and debate-filled introspection, the movie tracks the fragility of a long-lasting love that redefines and defies.
Similar to Our Times, Comet delves into the construction of love in various circumstances and periods, employing time as a metaphor for emotional experience, loss, and seeking meaning within relationships.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Netflix, Hulu
5) Zoe (2018)
Zoe is a sci-fi romance directed and written by Drake Doremus, with Ewan McGregor, Léa Seydoux, Christina Aguilera, Rashida Jones, and Miranda Otto.
In a world where technology discovers love matches and creates surrogate partners, Zoe is the staffer of a research company who questions who she is and what she feels for her colleague, Cole.
The closer they get, the more they question what truly means to love because algorithms dictate feeling and being in a relationship.
Similar to Our Times, Zoe reveals the effects of scientific progress on closeness, defying ideas of authentic closeness, identity, and emotional integrity in a shifting society.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Netflix
6) Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Safety Not Guaranteed is a science fiction comedy movie written and directed by Colin Trevorrow and based on a satirical real-life wanted ad of 1997.
Darius, an editorial intern, joins her co-workers to investigate a weird ad about a time-traveling companion. During getting acquainted with Kenneth, the odd author of the ad, Darius learns hidden emotional depths under his strange behaviors.
Through their talk, she discovers a heartbreaking tale of trusting, believing, and re-making the past.
Similar to Our Times, Safety Not Guaranteed employs time travel to examine development on a personal level, mixing the humor with do-overs.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Netflix
7) Another Earth (2011)
Another Earth is a sci-fi film by Mike Cahill, starring Brit Marling, William Mapother, and Robin Lord Taylor.
The story is about Rhoda Williams, a beautiful young lady whose future is destroyed by a tragic accident, just when a duplicate Earth appears in the sky.
Feeling guilty, she becomes involved with the guy whose life is altered by the crash, and also attempts to uncover solutions in the mysterious mirror world that promises a different path.
Similar to Our Times, Another Earth employs speculative science to examine inner conflict and emotional recovery and how the potential for other worlds can reflect one's worst regrets and quest for redemption.
Where to watch: Apple TV+, HBO Max, Disney+
Interested viewers can watch the sci-fi romance movie Our Times on Netflix.
