A Foreign Affair

Two momma's boys searching for a mail order Russian bride not for love or sex but to replace their dead mother as a housekeeper on their isolated southwestern farm, Tim Blake Nelson and David Arquette, go to Russia on a romance tour organized by a company (that really exists) called A Foreign Affair. The portrayal of the romance tour/Russian bride business is satirical, very funny but not unkind, but the real interest of the movie lies in the story of the two brothers discovering their true (and different) selves. The movie features a luminous performance by Emily Mortimer as a documentary filming British journalist who speaks fluent Russian and who encounters Blake Nelson in the course of the trip to St. Petersburg. The movie makes miraculous use of its limited budget and has numerous witty touches.

I was able to see this movie at the Sundance Film Festival. It was absolutely hilarious, and had some touching parts too. David Arquette and Tim Blake Nelson play brothers who venture off to St. Petersburg on a romance cruise to meet a Russian wife to take care of them. David Arquette was perfect for his role and the chemistry between Nelson and Emily Mortimer was excellent. I also enjoyed the musical score of this film.

I had a chance to see "A Foreign Affair" on April 15 at a pre-release screening with over 500 other film-goers and was mightily impressed by this movie! It strikes me as containing the same kind of graceful humor and insight as "Big Fish," "The Station Agent" and even "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding." The film makes important points about family, love and marriage without shouting and resorting to cheap theatrics. I hope people get behind the movie as they did for "Greek Wedding" so that this quiet little gem doesn't get buried under all of the bombastic comic book pictures. The script is delightful and well conveyed on the screen. Actors Nelson, Arquette and Mortimer are perfect in their roles. The interspersing of documentary-style interviews about marriage throughout the movie was a treat, as were the surprising touches at the end of the film --- again, humorous and touching at the same time. General consensus of the 500 folks at the screening: Outstanding!

1st watched 10/4/2004 - 8 out of 10(Dir-Helmut Schleppi): Excellent docu-drama about 2 brothers in search of a foreign wife to take care of them after their mother passes away. This is played out seriously and that's why it works. Both main actors do a great job with acting slightly off-kilter but keeping a straight face in this eccentric and unique story of their attempts to be loved. The older brother engages a foreign purchase-a-wife service disguised as a romantic getaway and their off to Russia in search of that special 'one.' It's obvious that both of these boys haven't been out of the nest much. One takes the search on in a business-like way(of course not attracting many women), and the younger gets a chance to be himself and and sew his wild oats and has a lot more choices because of this. A female reporter becomes involved in the story because she's doing a documentary and soon becomes a part of a triangle-type relationship. This is where the story is able to include documentary style footage that gives it that feel like this could really happen. This is definitely a catch and if you can find it at your local rental store give it a try, you won't be disappointed. And if you're like me, you'll want to watch it a second time just to make sure you 'get' everything that it's giving you.

My wife, Ekaterina, and I met each other in Saint Petersburg, Russia on a tour sponsored by A Foreign Affair, the company that was involved in making this film. The film depicts with accuracy many of the experiences that we went through when we met. I am excited that the film was produced, because it will help people understand what awesome opportunities tours like these offer to people to meet each other. The film is an intelligent, romantic comedy that equals "A Greek Wedding" and "Monsoon Wedding" in portraying family values and relationships. Arquette, Blake Nelson, and Mortimer do wonderful jobs portraying their characters. The film also shows that Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. I highly recommend it and sincerely hope that it becomes successful and popular.