gradyharp SVEN BENE or LOVE ME is a Turkish and Ukrainian film in four languages – Russian, English, Turkish and Ukrainian. The film is a timely one as the globe focuses on the discontent in the Ukraine, but this little film is less a political diatribe than it is a love story between two needy people. It is a character-driven narrative that follows desperate Turkish men on their quest for love through the modern 'mail-order bride' industry in Ukraine. The film highlights the complete process of finding a partner in a foreign land, showing the Western male and Ukrainian female perspectives.Cemal is from Turkey and is approaching an arranged marriage to a Turkish girl. As his bachelor party his friends and his uncle to Kiev with the intention of it providing the sexually inexperienced Cemal with chance for practice with a prostitute before he heads back and gets married. At a club he meets the Ukrainian Sasha (who is in a relationship) and despite the fact that neither speaks the other's language, they make do with a bit of English and with this impaired communication, they leave the club for Sasha's place – without much in the way of talking – a refreshing way to watch an attraction or seduction take place. Sasha discovers her grandmother is missing and that puts a halt to their intended tryst: instead the two end up searching around Kiev for the missing grandmother. Without language but with a sensitive sensual attraction Cemal and Sasha enter a fragile chemistry. It is in these tender moments with the background of the wintry landscape and cityscape that the warm meaningful relationship seems to be building. To say more would be a spoiler, but what we are seeing is a clash of cultures that points out how truly different courtship can be when tainted by native restrictions. The actors are convincing and the writer/directors handle this schism of cultures with gentle reality and a very fine sense of light comedy. It is a heart film, and thank goodness some are still being made.

Paul Allaer "Love Me" (2013 co-production from Ukraine and Turkey; 90 min.) brings the story of Sasha and Cemal. As the movie opens, we see Cemal participating in a family celebration ceremony in Istanbul, and along the way we learn that he is engaged to be married. But Cemal's uncle convinces him to come along for a "lost weekend" in Kiev. Meanwhile, we get to know Sasha, a beautiful woman who is stuck in a deeply unhappy relationship with a married man. To vent her frustration, Sasha one night heads out to a local night club, where by coincidence she spots a rich-looking foreigner, Cemal. At this point we are about 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first, even thought this is a Ukraine-Turkish co-production (and co-written/co-directed by a Turk and a Ukranian), 90% of the movie plays out in Kiev (or Kyiv, as the movie's subtitles insist). The movie is set in the dead of winter, and as such, Kiev becomes a third leading character in the movie. There are numerous gorgeous shots of the barren winter cityscapes, shrouded in early morning fog/frost/snow. Second, the relationship/interaction between Sasha and Cemal is very interesting. Two complete strangers meet and start what could be "the beginning of a very meaningful relationship" (sorry, couldn't help the Seinfeld punt). In that sense I was reminded of Richard Linklater's 1995 movie "Before Sunrise" (like that movie, the first half of "Love Me" plays out over the very first evening/night that Sasha and Cemal meet). But to complicate matters even further, neither speaks the other's language, and their broken English is limited at best. Third, a striking feature of living in Ukraine, at least if you are a woman, is that the most important feature in looking for a mate is that he's got money, and lots of it. When Sasha's money gets wind of the budding friendship between Sasha and Cemal, she snorts with barely contained contempt "Is he at least rich? You're so selfish if he's not!", wow. Last but not least, the movie makes some pointed observations on the challenges for the many Turks living in Kiev, and it ain't always a pretty picture. All that aside, "Love Me" kept my interest from start to finish and the movie simply flew by in no time.This movie was the January, 2015 release in Film Movement's "DVD of the Month" club of foreign and indie movies. As is always the case, the DVD comes with a bonus shortie, and this month we get "The Queen" (original title: La Reina; 2013 release from Argentina; 19 min.), an interesting documentary regarding a young girl's struggle with competing in beauty pageantries while wanting to live a 'normal' live. Definitely worth checking out. Meanwhile, "Love Me" is a worthy addition to the ever-growing Film Movement's library of foreign and indie movies. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Lowbacca1977 The simplest way to sum up this movie is that it reminds me, quite strongly, of the Jamie and Aurélia arc of Love, Actually, where the two develop a relationship of sorts even with a language barrier in play.Ushan Çakir takes on the role of Cemal, who has an arranged marriage set up for him, but is taken by friends and his uncle to Kyev as a sort of bachelor party, with the intention of it providing him a chance with a prostitute before he heads back and gets married. While at a club, he spots Sasha (Viktoria Spesivtseva), and without communication, he goes with her out of the club and back to her place, all in a very quiet, uneasy position as they don't communicate at all.When Sasha finds out her grandmother is missing, their activities are interrupted and instead the two end up searching around Kyev together, and the two slowly build up a chemistry between the two, and the whole thing always has a bittersweet undertone to all of it, knowing the communications difficulties, the miscommunications, and that both of them are already in their own relationships of sorts. The language barrier persists, though, in causing troubles and leading to the two being pulled apart towards the end.With the language differences throughout, I do think one of the impressive things is just how communicative the two lead actors are, especially given that so much had to happen without talking, or only single words, and yet the way they play off of one another feels so natural and so genuine.The boldest choice of the film, though, was how it ended. Romantic films are full of the cliché ending, where they realize that how they feel is worth pursuing, and they make that last minute gambit to stop the other person before its too late, from It Happened One Night to Frozen. And then there's this, where they both have those moments of realization.... and then bittersweet turns to almost bitter, as they both decide to return to their lives as it was before, as though none of what happened between them occurred. It's a poignant moment, realizing that they've both decided to go back to where they were before, even if they were less happy, but it's also a very sad moment that adds a somewhat bleak nature to film, all in all.It may be a good story, but with an almost melancholy tone to it.

elsinefilo Sev Beni (Love Me) a Ukrainian-Turkish co-production tells the story of Cemal (Ushan Cakir) and Sasha (Viktoria Spesivtseva). Cemal is about to marry a girl whom his mother chose for him. Given the fact that arranging marriages is the still the common practice in rural Turkey, Cemal's case is hardly surprising. At the henna ceremony (traditionally part of the fertility ritual that take places on the eve of a wedding usually at the bridal home) his friend asks Cemal which football team his fiancée supports but Cemal wonders why he should talk to a girl about football in the first place. He is actually on the brink of marrying somebody whom he has barely talked to. He has probably never had any long term relationships and he is sexually inexperienced. His uncle suggests Cemal should accompany his friends to Ukraine on a business trip. While Cemal is quite reluctant to join the team at first, he gives in to his uncle. For Cemal's uncle and his friends, Ukraine is a place to let off steam with beautiful Slavic Natashas (the prevalence of sex workers from the ex–Soviet Union has earned them a nickname: Natashas in Turkish). Cemal meets Sasha at a strip club in Kiev. Sasha, who is the mistress of a rich man, wants to have a baby so that she can secure her future. Sasha takes him to her place. When Sasha happens to know that her grandmother ran away from the nursery home, they can't fulfill the arrangement and an idiosyncratic series of scenes centered on cultural clashes ensue. The acting in the movie is good enough while the chemistry between Ushan Çakır and Viktoria Spesivtseva would be more compelling without the trappings disguised in a white jeep and fur :) Sev Beni which reminds me of Elveda Katya (starring Anna Andrusenko), Eylül (starring Elena Polyanskaya), I loved you so much (starring Alma Terzic) doesn't actually say anything new. I don't know about the Russian people but Turks must be tired of the Slavic-Turko love stories. In Sev Beni,we see the usual racial stereotypes. All of the Turkish guys except Cemal are just lecherous people who want to have the time of their lives away from their 'ugly' Turkish wives. And, all of the Slavic women seem to be interested in making some easy money by shagging foreign men. What makes Slavic women more sensual to the eyes of Turkish men is not really how they look. They are really uninhibited in both their dress and behavior. On the other hand, what makes Turkish woman emotionally and physically inhibited is the patriarchal society engineered by Turkish men. Turkish men are actually the victims of a system that they've built up themselves. That's why they might sound quite horny, uncouth and inconsiderate to foreign eyes. And the he reasons why Slavic women behave the way they do is more about how they feel their societies perceive them. They simply don't have to be on their best behavior. When everyone has got some sex appeal, the unbearable lightness of sexual rivalry kicks in. In the movie Cemal meets a Turkish doner seller( Yavuz Bingol). He tells Cemal that if Slavic women are honest, they are very honest and if they are bitches, they are real f*cking bitches and he adds he left his wife and kids for the latter kind of a Slavic woman. He says the woman for whom he has risked everything in his life works as a prostitute in Antalya. There could be many Slavic women who are willingly indulge in prostitution but I believe that's not where reality lies. The movie overlooks the fact that the forced prostitution of women through coercion or violence is still a global tragedy and we know that some of these women are duped into working as prostitutes in Turkey. With a smarter plot, a fairer portrayal of sex tourism and fewer platitudes on race Sev Beni could have been a memorable movie. Maybe the only thing which would make it stand out is its finale. The dénouement reminds us real life is not a romantic dramedy.