User Reviews

I saw this film twice, not recently though. The title translates literally to "To Love a Person", not "The Love of Mankind". It's about two architects, a man, Tarkovsky's favorite actor Solonitsyn, and a woman. They meet at a party of their old teachers. They slowly start to like each other, strangely enough the man asks the woman to marry him on their first night. Soon they do get married, even though they still don't really know each other. They move into a house that the man designed and built himself in a far away winterly landscape where he is working on new construction projects. I can't wait to see this film again, I remember feeling good while watching it, even thought it has sad moments like when the woman becomes sick for a while. It's in color and the images are wonderful, I'm reminded of "U Ozera/By the Lake", my favorite Gerasimov film (in B&W), but this films tone is lighter, and it's about a couple and their relationship which was a refreshing theme from Gerasimov. The acting is superb, it has long scenes that are simply realistic and fascinating to watch. Gerasimov is the master of long talking scenes that are interesting and wonderfully shot and actually have incredible, realistic conversation. I can't wait to see this film again, I'm sure I'll like it even more the next time. Lyubov Virolainen is so beautiful and acted perfectly, shy, lovely, generous, uncertain. And Solonitsyn - why just to see him act is a gift, but in this role he is wonderful; if you like him in Tarkovsky's films like Stalker and Solaris, check this film out, he's equally great. In short, it's a beautiful film, we get to watch these two strangers meet, fall in love, get married and go through problems, and in the end become closer than before. Serge Gerasimov was a genius director, one of Russia's brightest minds.10/10