1930s Poland. Leo passionately loves Alma and wants to write a book about that. But the war tears their romance apart, despite their promise to meet again. New York, 2016. A teenaged girl named Alma doesn’t know how to overcome the death of her father. She believes she has found the solution in a book that her mother translated from Spanish, and whose main character is also named Alma: The History of Love. Not far away, an old man starts to write, resurrecting the Poland of his youth, his lost love, the son who grew up without him. This old man is Leo, and his fate will cross that of the young Alma.

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Romanian film director Radu Mihaileanu demonstrated some expertise with The Concert and The Source, even if he had trouble handling melodrama. The History of Love will therefore doubtlessly please viewers captivated by his success and might even convert others through its great and noble ambition. Although this adaptation of the book by Nicole Krauss has a simple plot, it works thanks to its mixing of genres (with laughter between tears and lightness) and an excellent ensemble cast that lends the story its air. Instead of sticking conventionally to its plot, this great romantic story is easily captivating and deserving of its label as a feel-good movie.