Time travel is one of those stories that can be very touching or really cheesy, thought provoking or groaning, insightful or disaster. It is a very complicated and delicate part of the sci-fi and romance genres.

Many film directors and screenwriters have tackled the subject over the years, with results ranging from forgettable, fun, and quirky to vigorously romantic. Some of Hollywood’s notable efforts include “The Butterfly Effect “,” Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure “,” Click “,” Hot Tub Time Machine “ and perhaps one of the most beloved “Return to the future. “

They can be engaging and audience-friendly movies, but every now and then a time travel movie is made that raises the bar and takes things to a deeper level. It offers a twist that surprises and asks for much of the audience.

There is also something to be said for time travel romances. The premise attracts a wide audience. After all, who has not considered the possibility of reincarnation, of time travel, of the possibility of a lost love forgotten somewhere in time? There is a charm in something that we can almost conceive of as possible.

In the 2006 drama “The lake House, “Kate Foster played by Sandra Bullock and Alex Wyler played by Keanu Reeves are a couple separated for two years, communicating through love letters exchanged through a mailbox outside the lake house where Kate lives (Alex lived the place two years before).

A plot twist reveals that Alex died in Kate’s arms before she moved into the lake house, and it is only through her letters that they are recognized. Ultimately, Kate is able to prevent Alex from having a fatal accident and the two are eventually bonded. The movie has a lot of romance, but the element of time travel speaks of hope for a second chance and a love greater than life.

A more recent example is “The Time Traveler’s Wife, “a Rachel McAdams-Eric Bana film based on the novel of the same name. In it, Bana’s character, Henry De Tamble, involuntarily travels through time due to a rare genetic disorder, while Clare Abshire played by Rachel McAdams remains in the present. In their first meeting, Henry goes back in time to meet his wife Clare at various stages of their life, all of which happened before they met. His disorder complicates his marriage and his ability to have children, and puts his life in danger due to an accident. That happens while traveling back in time. The two probably end up together in the end, but like all great time travel romances, it wouldn’t be time travel without a bittersweet touch.

A deviation from these random time travel plot lines is “Somewhere in time, “in which Richard Collier played by Christopher Reeves allows himself to be hypnotized to go back in time and find the beautiful actress Elise McKenna played by Jane Seymour with whom he falls in love after seeing her photograph. The two are kept separated by the manager of the woman, who fears that romance will destroy her career.

Richard eventually returns to the present without his lover, then presumably dies and is reunited with her.

These three stories are heartbreaking because of the tragic elements of their plots, on a deeper level. They also speak to those of us who recognize what it is like to mourn lost love, who long for another chance, who hope to meet a lost love again one day, finally mending our bleeding hearts.