L'amante russo

The book (of the same name) that this film is based upon is only about 40 or 50 pages long and can be read in a couple of hours. The film adaption doesn't provide any narrator, so it's easy to be lost as to the point of particular scenes, e.g. The hairdresser scene is difficult to comprehend without the author's internal thoughts.

If you go in with the context of the author's emotional state and thoughts, the imagery in the film brings the text alive.

The author, Annie Ernaux, won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature. She bares her soul in her work, and that's why I wanted to see the film, and the result was worth watching.

A camera that is sensitive in the moments it should, such as: focusing on the skin, the sensation and sounds of the environment and the changes in the protagonist's emotions, it starts off intimate, suffocating when the romance is beginning and becomes more distant in moments of doubt, reflections of the protagonist, to corroborate the feminine point of view of the plot. Sex is present in the first half of the film, as expected from a lovers' film, but it seems mechanical and false to us who are watching, it only seems to make sense for the protagonist, who delights and misses it. I liked the idea of the protagonist being a university professor who teaches about literature and trying to create her novels, a contrast between reading about romance and experiencing them, which brings us a human reflection that even though she has knowledge about romantic novels and their endings, she She appears to have no regrets about her decision, she willingly embraces her choice, telling us that it is worth making "some" mistakes and feeling certain emotions.

One of the finest female view point of love in a recent time . Intentions are too relatable and finest shot composed. I can say beautiful. Please watch do not care about regular comparison review and rating.

Yes, the movie was slowly paced and the story was simple yet relatable. There was a lot of bed scenes, which given that Sergei Polunin was the love interest was not a bad thing in the least. Did I mention Sergei Polunin? Laetitia Dorsch was wonderful as well. If you can, watch this movie. Just make sure your kids aren't around lol.

I must say that I didn't expect that I would watch more than 15 minutes of this movie.

Hence, I was pleasantly surprised that somehow the movie got me interested.

I'm a man.

This movie is essentially from a woman viewpoint. Perhaps it would therefore appeal to many women rather than men ?

Regardless, the central character actress got my attention into her spiralling descent into a highly addictive, highly dependent physical relationship.

It contrasts with her life which is being an intellectual , a lecturer at the University.

It also doesn't agree with her role as a single mother.

Good movie that shows how "love", or at least the perception of being in love, can lead to disaster.