Loves Me, Loves Me Not (Любит не любит) is a 2014 Russian romantic comedy.
In the film, Lyosha, a successful businessman, has just gotten engaged to his girlfriend, Alyona, his boss’s daughter, when he meets well-known journalist Irina. She introduces him to a new, exciting, chaotic life, and suddenly he can’t choose between Irina, who makes his life colorful and more interesting, and the calmer, simpler Alyona, who loves him and wants to marry him.
The film got average reviews from viewers and critics. It was praised for its cinematography—the film takes place partly in Paris—and its acting. Romantic comedy fans found it funny and charming. Gazeta gave it the high praise of comparing it to The Irony of Fate, one of the best-loved Russian comedies of all time. Gazeta also noted that its director, Klim Shipenko, has a shot at competing with Western films with this one. He doesn’t exactly try to emulate those Western films, but he does ignore some of the standards of Russian films that make them stand out from their Western counterparts—that they don’t always end happily and that their heroes struggle. Film.ru said more simply that while the film wasn’t particularly original, its acting and humor were pleasant, and the shots of Parisian streets gave the film an extra boost.
Director: Klim Shipenko
Stars: Maksim Matveev, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Lyubov’ Aksyonova, Yekaterina Vasil’yeva, Sergey Gazarov
Production company: Patriot Productions, Yellow, Black & White
Box office take: $2.3 million
Official trailer:
