Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- restless
- playful
- date night
- international romcom night
What critics said
Critics found the film’s fusion of physics lectures and romantic comedy original and intermittently witty, but broadly considered its characters and romantic plotting shallow.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Manel repeatedly interprets his relationships through the three laws of thermodynamics, while scientists explain the concepts throughout the film.
Real scientists and Professor Amat interrupt the romantic plot to discuss thermodynamics and its history.
Manel’s thesis and compulsive belief that thermodynamics governs daily life intensify his anxiety about Elena and his past with Raquel.
The film intercuts romantic complications, scientific exposition, and playful formal presentation instead of following a conventional realist rom-com rhythm.
Films like The Laws of Thermodynamics, and why
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
inventive romantic comedy built around an intellectually playful conceptual framework and neurotic relationship dynamics
500 Days of Summer
witty, unconventional romance using narration and formal devices to examine emotional causality and commitment
The Science of Sleep
European romantic comedy combining scientific ideas, self-conscious storytelling, and flawed lovers
Annie Hall
stylized, talkative relationship comedy focused on romantic instability and the clash between theory and lived emotion
Movie Details
- Director
- Mateo Gil
- Release Date
- 2018-04-20
- Runtime
- 100 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (173)
Cast
- Vito Sanz
- Berta Vázquez
- Chino Darín
- Victoria Luengo
- Irene Escolar
- Josep Maria Pou
- Andrea Ros
- David Martín Surroca
- Daniel Sánchez Arévalo
- Albert Baró
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Laws of Thermodynamics about?
- A neurotic Barcelona scientist turns his unstable love life into a thermodynamics thesis, only to discover that human relationships resist tidy equations.
- What is The Laws of Thermodynamics like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Laws of Thermodynamics as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Laws of Thermodynamics violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Laws of Thermodynamics as mild.
- What did critics think of The Laws of Thermodynamics?
- Critics found the film’s fusion of physics lectures and romantic comedy original and intermittently witty, but broadly considered its characters and romantic plotting shallow.
- Which films are like The Laws of Thermodynamics?
- Films with a similar feel include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 500 Days of Summer, The Science of Sleep, and Annie Hall.
- How long is The Laws of Thermodynamics?
- The Laws of Thermodynamics runs 100 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Laws of Thermodynamics?
- In United States, The Laws of Thermodynamics streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
