
Love Me (DVD) Review
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“They never expected it to be the real thing.” It’s not exactly your standard love story. Cemal is a young guy from Turkey, celebrating his engagement to a woman his mother has chosen for him, and it’s obvious he isn’t exactly pumped about the idea. So his uncle and cousin decide to take him on […]
“They never expected it to be the real thing.”
It’s not exactly your standard love story. Cemal is a young guy from Turkey, celebrating his engagement to a woman his mother has chosen for him, and it’s obvious he isn’t exactly pumped about the idea. So his uncle and cousin decide to take him on a wild bachelor party of sorts, to their favorite “business” destination – Kiev. They have gone on these “tours” on many other occasions, but it is a first for Cemal. As they show him the ropes, telling him how to procure a Ukrainian prostitute for an evening of decadence, Cemal looks around the nightclub with apparent uneasiness. This clearly isn’t his thing.
And then there’s Sasha, a beautiful young Ukrainian woman who appears to have it all – gorgeous apartment, decadent furs, jewelry – all the trappings of a life well lived. But when we first meet her – at a bikini waxing appointment, no less – it is obvious she wants more. Sasha wants a baby, but she’s unlikely to get that wish from her married lover. And so, in a fit of pique, she dashes off to the nightclub to pick up a foreigner for a night of passion (and hopefully fertility). Cemal falls for Sasha at first glance, and willingly follows her out of the nightclub.
And so begins a comedy of errors as the two try to connect physically but keep getting interrupted by everything from a lost grandmother to an ambiguous arrest. The longer they spend in each other’s company, the greater their feelings grow. Though they obviously connect on a deeper level, the fact that they don’t even speak the same language and know nothing about each other fades away in the presence of what looks to be true love, and it’s certain to be a match that prevails against all odds – or is it?
Love Me is a film that has plenty of moments of humor as the clueless Cemal tries to keep up with the always poised Sasha in a country he doesn’t understand. The language barrier issue provides a few notable moments of levity as the two try to work their way through it. There are always plenty of truly sweet moments as the two begin to understand each other. The film also offers glimpses into some cultures that are very different from ours, which is also a plus. On the other hand, there are a lot of moments of pure frustration for the viewer as things play out in rather odd ways, the most notably being the ending, which will likely leave you fuming.