True romance: film, music and art to fall in love with on Valentine’s Day

From a mind-scrambling breakup drama to a tender video game, our critics suggest popular culture inspired by matters of the heart

Yes, it all takes place after Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) have bitterly broken up, but Michel Gondry's inventive, mind-scrambling sci-fi Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is actually perfectly romantic. On the pretext of annihilating the painful memories of his ex, Joel relives them, learning not just how much this elective amnesia will cost him, but also how much happiness is locked in the permafrost of the past, waiting to be thawed out. Inasmuch as any film this entertaining can be, it's really an exhortation to listen to what your future self is screaming at you from another dimension right now: to turn off your TV, wrap your lover in your arms and notice this present, perfect moment as it's happening. Jessica Kiang