Pro lyubov

We finally know what love really is. A basic knowledge of chemistry is requred. It's some substance in our brain that makes us inadequate while dealing with a person of opposite sex )) Not for a long time thought. It dissolves in 2-3 years (sometimes much faster) leaving us with bitter aftertaste and questions.

This theory belongs to a lector played by Renata Litvinova. You desperately want to beleive that Anna Melikyan, the director, is joking. But you won't be 100% sure she is.

According to a lecture on love and the biology of love in central Moscow, love is just a dopamine-induced temporary suspension of rational thinking that lasts for maximum 30 months if you are lucky. This lecture on love is the hub where 5 rather unusual short love stories crisscross, each suggesting a different answer to the love quest.

A very refreshing, light-humoured dynamic film. Formats and ideas keep changing, some kind of filming experiment that, in my view, worked out quite well. Apparent lightness behind which there is clear craft in filming.

Modern ideas about love in an upbeat modern Moscow. Love and illusion sometimes clashing with tough reality.

Good music throughout the film. Excellent acting by several characters.

I interpreted Anna Melikyan's "Pro lyubov'" ("About Love" in English) as a look at the question of how we define love in the 21st century. For example, in the first segment, anime fans Lena and Igor are in a relationship but have never seen each other out of costume. When they finally see each other out of costume it's awkward. Meanwhile, other characters spend all day with their gadgets or video games (as if to say that they love artificial things more than they love people). There's even a man whose goal is ridding Moscow of anything that he deems ugly (including a monument to Peter the Great).

Like "The Stroll" and "Elena", "About Love" uses its plot to pose the question of where Russia is going in the 21st century. Whether its the office manager who has to satisfy her boss's desires, or the lecturer's discovery about her former lover, something surprising happens with each character. We see the relationships of the people attending the lecture - and how they cross paths with each other - but there remains the issue of how this will get affected by outside events (that's my interpretation anyway). The movie has some impressive camera work and editing to move the story along. I recommend it.

I approached this movie with a bit of skepticism, but it wasn't fair of me. This movie, strangely enough, came out to be colorful, bright and sometimes even touching. It resolves around several stories, all of them, reflect on love. It all starts with a lecture, where the lecturer, a woman, speculates on the different aspects of the phenomenon called "love". From that, the stories begin. The first story deals with two cosplayers that never met outside their "costumes". When they decide to set a date for the first time as ordinary people, they feel betrayed as they see each other without makeup, wigs, and outfits. The second one revolves around an indecent proposal, that a manager receives from her boss. To sleep with him and receive a substantial amount of money or be faithful to her boyfriend, that all day spends playing World of Tanks. The third one is about a Japanese girl, in love with the Russian culture, she's sure that her soulmate is a Russian man, but is it true? After a set of disastrous dates, she's not that sure.. The fourth is focused on a graffiti painter, who finds inspiration in women. After having sex, he immortalizes them on the public walls. This fact is well-known to his girlfriend, who finds a fresh painting of a new, mysterious girl. The fifth and last story is concentrated on the lecturer herself. After a mysterious message, she finds out that her ex-husband needs a personal favor regarding his new, young and seductive girlfriend.

All the stories are fresh, original and colorful. The actors are doing a fantastic job, making you empathize with them and sincerely hoping that everything will turn out okay. Sometimes they're trying too hard to act natural and that's noticeable, but overall the actors still did a great job. The music is nice, not intrusive. The operator's work is flawless. If you're looking for a sweet, easy-to-watch love movie, this one is perfect.

My expectations were quite high because of director's previous success with 'Rusalka', but unfortunately 'Pro lyubov' didn't deliver.

There is no story whatsoever, the movie is just a chaotic sequence of non-related episodes. That works sometimes ('4 rooms', 'Paris, je t'aime') but mini-stories have to be exceptional and have to feel complete.

Many of the performances are plastic and fake. It feels that actors are simply reading their scripts rather than submerging into their characters.

In one of the stories, patriotic propaganda is a little bit over the roof, which is probably fine for mainstream movies, but not for art-house directors like Melikyan.

In sum, it's an okay popcorn movie for one view, but it's definitely not worth the hype.