Media about people who keep meeting over and over?
September 7, 2010 10:08 AM   Subscribe

Media about people who keep meeting over and over?

I'm looking for books, films, tv, music, etc. about people who keep meeting again and again, either by circumstance or fate.

Romance is good, but not necessary, and neither is a happy ending.

Examples that come to mind are:

- When Harry Met Sally
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Gone with the Wind
- Brokeback Mountain
posted by elsietheeel to Media & Arts (35 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Don't forget Groundhog Day.

And that godawful bag of shite Serendipity.
posted by MuffinMan at 10:10 AM on September 7, 2010


Does Groundhog Day count?
posted by Admiral Haddock at 10:10 AM on September 7, 2010


Before Sunrise/Sunset (they only meet twice rather than over and over, but I'm pretty sure it fits in well with what you're looking for).
posted by caek at 10:10 AM on September 7, 2010


The Bob Dylan song, "Tangled Up In Blue."
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:12 AM on September 7, 2010


Jonathan Letham's "Five Fucks" (In "Wall of the Sky, Wall of the Eye")

Every time two people meet (and do the humpty hump) they lose their memories and the world changes around them.

Fate as a curse.
posted by bobby_newmark at 10:13 AM on September 7, 2010


One of the subplots of last season's 30 Rock had Liz constantly running into Wesley Snipes (but not that Wesley Snipes) and finally deciding fate was telling her to settle for him.
posted by bondcliff at 10:14 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]


"A Lot Like Love" - movie with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. Pretty silly movie but meets the criteria.
posted by slyboots421 at 10:32 AM on September 7, 2010


First thing that came to mind: the Great Seeing You Again Guy sketch from Mr. Show
posted by ripley_ at 10:35 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]


Oh! Oh! Sliding Doors, with Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah.
posted by peachfuzz at 10:40 AM on September 7, 2010


I <3 Huckabees
posted by heatvision at 10:44 AM on September 7, 2010


This song, Wait, by the Benjy Davis Project, always chokes me up, but I'm a sucker for that kind of storyline.
posted by CunningLinguist at 10:55 AM on September 7, 2010


I want to say Groundhog Day, because mentioning it over and over would be so appropriate for the theme of the movie.

But I'll say The Time Rraveler's Wife. I haven't seen the movie (and I hear it's not very good), but if it's true to the novel, they keep meeting each other through time at different moments of their lives.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:00 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]


The Talented Mr. Ripley
posted by ashtabula to opelika at 11:02 AM on September 7, 2010


if two meetings is enough i submit haruki murakami's short story on seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful april morning.
posted by phil at 11:02 AM on September 7, 2010


i have not seen it but 50 first dates sounds like it fits the bill.
posted by phil at 11:05 AM on September 7, 2010


Same Time Next Year was the first time I remember seeing this trope. Tossing it into TV Tropes returns nothing.
posted by jessamyn at 11:07 AM on September 7, 2010


One Day by David Nicholls.
posted by Violet Hour at 11:09 AM on September 7, 2010


Response by poster: I checked TV Tropes for all of my examples and came up with no actual tropes or categories. Googling didn't help much either.

You guys are awesome as usual, keep them coming!

I can't believe I forgot Groundhog Day.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:21 AM on September 7, 2010


Time Traveller's Wife
posted by Simon_ at 11:30 AM on September 7, 2010


The bowl of petunias/whale that Arthur Dent keeps meeting in the The Hitchikers Guide series.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 11:30 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]


Dead Again
posted by K.P. at 11:31 AM on September 7, 2010


The Fountain - Not strictly what you're looking for, but the relationship between the characters is repeated at three distinct times/storylines.

Last Year at Marienbad - Again, not exactly what you're looking for, but a play on the idea.

Would the Back to the Future trilogy count?

Amelie sees Nino a few times before engaging him, and then they don't actually meet until the end.
posted by carsonb at 11:42 AM on September 7, 2010


A Room with a View.
posted by mynameisluka at 11:51 AM on September 7, 2010


Seconding the book (but not the movie) Time Traveler's Wife.

Also seconding Same Time, Next Year.
posted by marsha56 at 11:54 AM on September 7, 2010


The ending of the script of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has exactly this. Very different from the filmed ending.
posted by Green With You at 11:57 AM on September 7, 2010


Oops, I see you now that you mentioned the movie in your question. But the script is even more like what you say you're looking for.
posted by Green With You at 11:58 AM on September 7, 2010


Lover's of the Arctic Circle?
posted by pocketfluff at 12:29 PM on September 7, 2010


Replay by Ken Grimwood is a fantastic book about two people who keep meeting over and over again across lifetimes.
posted by rhiannonstone at 1:17 PM on September 7, 2010


Anthony Powell's 'A Dance to the Music of Time' (I'm thinking in particular of the ghastly Widmerpool, who pops up in various guises throughout the whole sequence of novels).
posted by HandfulOfDust at 2:33 PM on September 7, 2010


Four Weddings and a Funeral - Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell's characters.
posted by purlgurly at 3:33 PM on September 7, 2010


Does twice count? There's an episode of How I Met Your Mother in which Ted and a woman go on the same blind date twice and don't realize it until halfway through the second one.

I think it's "Double Date."
posted by hoperaiseshell at 9:05 PM on September 7, 2010


Kim Stanley Robinson, The Years of Rice and Salt.
posted by ubersturm at 11:18 PM on September 7, 2010


Next Stop Wonderland.
Bonus: great soundtrack!
posted by shazzam! at 4:12 AM on September 8, 2010


The BareNakedLadies song It's All Been Done (random video) fits this theme.

Also, the fish tank scene in The Meaning of Life.
posted by Brody's chum at 12:08 PM on September 8, 2010


Replay by Ken Grimwood. It's along the lines of the Time Traveler's Wife, but I liked it better.

Also, several recent episodes of 30 Rock have had a recurring theme of Liz meeting a guy who's perfect for her but has no spark. They keep meeting by chance over several episodes and are trying to decide if they should settle for each other. They first met in the dentist's office, if that helps to find the episode.
posted by CathyG at 7:13 AM on September 9, 2010


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