Itinerary: Love, Love, Love . . .

Valentine’s Day, coming on Monday, celebrates the best parts of love, when it is romantic, invigorating, intoxicating.

But the Hallmark card writers, candy-box makers and florists tend to gloss over the fact that sometimes love is impossible, painful and depressing. You don’t have to be romantically unattached to appreciate that fact, either. At least not this weekend.

Thursday

“The End of the Affair” (rated R) may be the perfect Valentine’s film for everyone--an anguished period love story with spiritual undercurrents. Ralph Fiennes plays novelist Maurice Bendrix, who becomes obsessed--again--with Sarah (Julianne Moore), with whom he had a passionate affair. Directed by Neil Jordan and adapted from Graham Greene’s novel, the film “is more concerned with the corrosive power of jealousy and other dark, torturous byways of romantic attachment,” wrote Times critic Kenneth Turan.

“The End of the Affair” is in general release.

Friday

As if it’s not difficult enough to keep a relationship together--imagine what it would be like if your significant other was from another country. And you were gay.

That’s the real-life problem facing performance artist Tim Miller, who was inspired by the situation to do some serious--and humorous--thinking about gay marriage and immigration rights. His new solo show exploring those themes, “Glory Box,” is at Highways (1651 18th St., Santa Monica. $15. [310] 315-1459) Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Take your pick of words or music to express how baffling love can be.

The storytelling group With Our Words offers an evening for adults, “Love Stories--Tales of Lovers and Others.” This group of five storytellers will recount a variety of stories about love, from the fairy tale “Rapunzel” to Richard Kennedy’s literary “A Silver Spoon.”

The performance is at 8 p.m. in the upstairs auditorium of the Beverly Hills Public Library (444 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills. $10. No reservations needed. [310] 455-2567).

Or, Musica Angelica is presenting “A Baroque Valentine” program (Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4 p.m., at Holliston Church, 1305 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. $25. [213] 380-8132). The period-instrument ensemble will be featuring soprano Jennifer Ellis and archlutenist Michael Eagan. Of note is “From Rosy Bow’rs” by Henry Purcell, which reflects a woman driven comically mad in stages by her passion.

Sunday

Ah, “Romeo and Juliet,” the story that defined star-crossed lovers.

It’s not Shakespeare’s version playing at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. $42 to $52. [800] 300-4345), but Prokofiev’s. Performed here by the Ballet de l’Opera de Bourdeaux (Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.), this is the U.S. debut of original choreography by Tiit Harm.

Shake off the tragedy in the evening at the Laugh Factory (8001 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Reservations required. [323] 656-1336), which is offering its anti-Valentine’s show Sunday at 8 p.m. Comedians Jeff Ross and John Witherspoon will offer their take on love, dating and relationships--always good joke fodder. Also, enjoy the winners of the funniest bad-date contest. The club is soliciting entries--100 or fewer words--until midnight Friday (fax to: [323] 656-2563). Comedians will read the top 10, and there are prizes for the best three.