Film

Bliss

Name: Bliss
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, Drama
Released: 2021
Cast: Owen Wilson, Salma Hayek Pinault, Nesta Cooper, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Ronny Chieng

Romantic drama

A sci-fi romance about a recently divorced, recently fired man who meets a homeless woman convinced the world is a simulation. As their connection deepens, he begins to believe her. It's visually trippy, emotionally earnest, and genuinely weird—a film unafraid to be sincere about loneliness and love, even when the premise sounds absurd.

TMDb rating

2.8

If you liked this

Her2013

A quieter, more intimate meditation on human connection and what we're really looking for in another person. Joaquin Phoenix carries it with heartbreaking subtlety, and the world-building feels both futuristic and achingly present.

But It's slower and more contemplative than Bliss, with no explosions or big visual tricks. If you want constant narrative momentum, this will test your patience.

Arrival2016

Thoughtful sci-fi that takes a wild premise seriously, with a quiet visual language and genuine emotional stakes. Denis Villeneuve builds wonder without ever winking at the camera.

But The pacing is deliberate and the ending hinges on an idea rather than spectacle. Some find it distant or emotionally cold.

The Adjustment Bureau2011

Shares Bliss's DNA of a man questioning reality while falling in love with a woman who sees the world differently. It's playful, romantic, and has real stakes beneath the premise.

But The metaphor can feel heavy-handed, and the film doesn't quite stick its landing. It's a fascinating idea that doesn't fully commit to where it goes.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bliss

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Synecdoche, New York2008

Both explore simulation theory and fractured reality through grief and isolation, but Synecdoche uses a man's desperate artistic creation rather than a woman's philosophical certainty.

Charlie Kaufman's baroque masterpiece about a theater director constructing an elaborate simulation of the world inside his work. Like Bliss, it asks whether we can ever know what's real, but approaches it through art, ego, and the impossibility of capturing life.

But It's deliberately convoluted, demands active attention, and the protagonist is profoundly unlikeable. The three-hour runtime and ambiguous ending frustrate many viewers.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind2004

A deeply strange love story wrapped in science fiction about memory and loss. Charlie Kaufman's script is inventive and melancholy, and it genuinely earns its emotional weight.

But The narrative jumps around intentionally and the tone shifts between whimsy and real pain. It requires patience and doesn't explain itself.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind poster

About Time2013

A story about a man's relationship with his father threaded through a romance and time-travel plot. It finds genuine magic in the small moments of human connection.

But The first half feels like a rom-com before it shifts into something more serious. The tonal pivot doesn't work for everyone.

Under the Skin2014

A haunting, visually magnificent meditation on otherness and desire. Scarlett Johansson's performance and Jonathan Glazel's direction create something hypnotic and genuinely unsettling.

But There's almost no dialogue or plot in the traditional sense. It's an experience, not a story, and some find it tedious or pretentious.

The Time Machine1960

The original adaptation of Wells' novella has a romance at its heart and a genuine sense of wonder. It's playful with its sci-fi concepts while taking its emotional stakes seriously.

But It's old, so the special effects are dated. The pacing and some casting choices haven't aged as well as the ideas.

Defending Your Life1991

A high-concept romantic comedy about judgment, fear, and learning to truly live. Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep have luminous chemistry, and the film is smart without being cold.

But The premise is inherently gimmicky, and the execution sometimes feels more like a sketch than a full story. It's warm but slight.

Annihilation2018

A stunning sci-fi film about transformation and the unknowable. Visually gorgeous and genuinely strange, with a protagonist trying to understand something beyond her comprehension.

But The third act becomes deliberately abstract and the ending offers no easy answers. Many find it frustrating rather than profound.

The Happiness of the Katakuris2002

Like Bliss, it takes an absurd premise completely seriously and finds real tenderness in weird places, refusing to choose between sincerity and strangeness.

A wildly inventive Japanese musical-horror-drama about a family running a remote inn where guests keep dying. It's sincere about love and connection while being completely bonkers, mixing genres with joyful chaos.

But The tone is relentlessly bizarre—it lurches between heartfelt moments and stop-motion corpses. If you want emotional consistency or genre coherence, this will feel unhinged.

The Adam Project2022

Both use speculative sci-fi to explore loneliness and the hunger for someone to truly understand you, though this one is far more mainstream and straightforward.

Ryan Reynolds and Mark Ruffalo in a time-travel adventure that's genuinely about fathers and sons learning to see each other. It's lighter than Bliss but shares its DNA: sci-fi as a vehicle for examining connection and loss.

But It's a Netflix action-comedy that doesn't quite land its emotional beats. The story beats are familiar and the humor sometimes undercuts the sentiment.