“Love It Seems”
A light and optimistic rom-com set in Russia’s most romantic and cinematic city. A young woman, Liza (Anna Zavtur), arrives from Pskov to her dream city, St. Petersburg, for the first time, but the city doesn’t give her a warm welcome: her landlord turns out to be a swindler, and Liza’s backpack is stolen on the street. In one of the courtyards, she meets the charming artist Vasya (Kuzma Kotrelev) and his musician friend Vitya (Sergei Goroshko), who are transporting an antique bed across the city to its future buyers. Without thinking twice, Liza volunteers to help her new acquaintances, who not only keep her company but also show her the best side of St. Petersburg. The heroes find themselves in funny and touching situations together, attend parties, listen to live music, discuss art, and share their views on love.
“You’re Driving Me Crazy”
Daria Lebedeva’s directorial debut will be especially loved by fans of old rom-coms. The love story once again unfolds in St. Petersburg, where chance, as they say, turns out to be fate. SMM manager Alisa (Mila Ershova) decides to move to the center, but finding suitable housing is not so easy. When the ideal option is finally found, it turns out that the apartment is rented exclusively to couples. Bartender Ivan (Yuri Nasonov), who happens to be in the same place at the same time, without hesitation pretends to be her husband, and the landlord signs a contract. However, neither Alice nor Ivan are going to give up their dream apartment, and each is confident they have won. The girl moves in first—and soon discovers that the bathroom mirror reveals a parallel reality in which her rival occupies the same apartment. The heroes can’t figure out how this happened, but over time, they accept the rules of the game and begin communicating through the portal, gradually growing closer despite the dimension separating them.
“Eternity”
A24’s new fantasy rom-com is showing in Russian theaters. Spouses Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and Larry (Miles Teller) lived together for 65 years and died within a week of each other. After death, they found themselves at a mysterious station where souls choose how and with whom to spend the rest of their eternity in paradise. They could, for example, go to snow-capped mountains, a sandy beach, or even a world without men. While the couple, having regained their youth, chooses the ideal landscape for a well-deserved vacation, it turns out that Joan has been waiting there for 67 years, her first husband, Luke (Callum Turner), who died in the war as a young man. Now, the heroine is torn between her former lover, whom she pined for, and her second husband, with whom she spent almost her entire life and started a family. Two men enter into a duel for Joan’s heart.
“There”
Vadim (Pyotr Fyodorov) is a silent taxi driver, accustomed to driving and living by the navigator – precise, predictable and reserved. Vera (Irina Starshenbaum) is his complete opposite: energetic, open to adventure and optimistic. Their meeting occurs by chance when Vera gets into Vadim’s taxi, intending to get from Moscow to Ufa, a route almost 1,500 kilometers long. She, of course, paid for the fare and promised to add extra, so Vadim has no choice. At first, this journey seems like torture to him, because Vera is very talkative and asks to stop in every town or village to take a selfie. But soon an unplanned trip will melt his icy heart, and Vadim will look at the world around him with a new look, which is full of surprises that make life a little brighter. A light and inspiring road movie by Ivan Petukhov about the path to each other and to ourselves.
“Jane Austen ruined my life”
Thirty-year-old Parisian Agathe (Camille Rutherford) works in a bookshop and sees the world through the eyes of the heroines of classic novels. She believes in sublime feelings and fateful encounters, so she patiently waits for her ideal gentleman. Agatha dreams of becoming a writer, but her novel is stalling: she’s caught between her desire to write like Jane Austen and her fear of saying anything truly personal. An unexpected invitation to Jane Austen’s writers’ residency in England seems like a dream come true. In an ancient estate surrounded by rolling green hills, tea parties, and strolls, she meets Oliver (Charlie Anson), a charming yet reserved British man straight out of her favorite novels. However, this English idyll forces Agatha to question whether the ideal she’s been striving for can truly make her happy. A subtle and ironic rom-com about finding your own voice and letting go of romantic illusions.
“New Year’s Tariff”
A festive rom-com with elements of fantasy and a New Year’s extravaganza. Andrey (Maksim Matveyev) returns from a long business trip and loses his cell phone. At a mobile phone store, he is offered a phone with a special tariff created for holiday miracles. On New Year’s Eve, while walking with friends on Red Square, Andrey decides to call a random number, following an old tradition, to congratulate a stranger. Alena (Valeria Lanskaya), a violinist who has just been dumped by her boyfriend, answers on the other end of the line. A warm conversation quickly begins between the characters, and soon they decide to meet. But at the meeting place, the incredible comes to light: Alena lives in the past—in 2008, and Andrey—in 2009, with exactly one year between them. This fantastic time warp becomes the main obstacle—and at the same time, fate’s surprise.
“The Nature of Love”
Sofia (Magali Lepine Blondeau) is a philosophy professor who has been married for over ten years. She lives a comfortable life, attending social events and hosting dinner parties with her husband. But her marriage has long lost its passion and spark. When the couple decides to renovate their country house, Sofia meets Sylvain (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), a foreman who is supposed to take on the construction work. Sylvain is the complete opposite of her husband: he is rude, simple in his expression of thoughts, and lives in a completely different world. Their first encounter develops into a passionate affair that quickly goes beyond a simple fling. Sofia faces a choice between a stable but vapid marriage and a relationship filled with physical tension but potentially destructive consequences. Monya Shokri’s charming and ironic rom-com premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival.
From the new release with Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley before “Return to Silent Hill”: Film Digest of the Month
