My Love Affair with Marriage movie review

MOVIE TITLE: My Love Affair With Marriage

This coming-of-age animation for adults opens in New York City on October 6 and in Los Angeles on October 13. Additional cities will follow.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 47 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B+

IN A NUTSHELL:

This is an animated feature film directed, animated, and written by Signe Baumane, who was born in Latvia. The HuffPost called the movie “One of the best female resistance films of the year.” It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022 and then went on to win over 20 awards at various film festivals worldwide.

The story is about a 23-year-old single woman, trying to find love in this confusing world in Eastern Europe. It’s told from a woman’s perspective and celebrates her journey toward independence and liberation. Does that sound like a feminist flick? The description does for sure, but in reality, it’s really about a woman just trying to find true love.

THINGS I LIKED:

The voice talents include Matthew Modine, Dagmara Dominczyk, Michele Pawk, Cameron Monaghan, and Stephen Lang.
The hand-drawn animation includes some photography and three-dimensional sets.
There are some clever visual metaphors that perfectly illustrate the complex transition from girlhood to womanhood.
We get to observe scientific explanations to help us better understand thoughts and feelings, and how they affect our physical body…and vice versa.
What’s surprising is the large collection of musical numbers. They were created by Kristian Sensini. The song I liked the best was during the rolling credits at the end of the film. I’m not saying that sarcastically to mean that I liked that the movie was ending; I really did enjoy that song the best.
The insights are often brutal and true at the same time.
We also get to see a lot of character growth in the main character.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The problem with most feminist films is they usually portray men as dumb, useless, and toxic.
The movie is long, yet it ended suddenly and unexpectedly.
A large portion of the movie was devoted to sexuality.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

This is an animation for adults. Kids will be bored. The content isn’t appropriate for them anyway.
A boy and girl fight each other in school.
There is talk of a girl’s first period, and losing her virginity.
1 F-bomb
Lots of talk and portrayal of sex

THEMES:

Marriage
History
Gender norms
Domestic violence
Toxic relationships
Self-respect
Inner rebellion
Communism
Soulmates
Life and death
Validation from others

INTERESTING LINES:

“Do you like me now?” – Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk)
“Love would make me complete.” – Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk)
“I lied like a good woman.” – Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk)
“Losing my virginity turned out to be a very ordinary act involving some pain and moderate unpleasantness.” – Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk)
“There is no sense of power in waiting.” – – Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk)
“For self-protection, I had to look cold and unavailable.” – Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk)
“Please, don’t fall asleep. Sleep will separate us.” – Sergei (Cameron Monaghan)