Reviews

• It is absorbing, disturbing, and tender -- all at once. The Russian women become people before our eyes; their plight, both romantic and economic, rationalizes the impetus to make marriages with strange American men, but does not minimize the enormous effort required to leave the world they know for an alien one. There are marvelous, chilling, if poignant, tensions raised in the film about women, men, marriage, children, and cultural dissonances. I wonder, particularly, about the children attached to the women, and if material things in themselves will satisfy them and their mothers in time to come. As a student of Gender, I am especially struck by the disparity between the limited lives possible for the Russian women who stay, and the quantum leap in privilege --albeit at grave personal cost -- for those who seek something better.

  Gina Luria Walker, Chair
  Department of Social Sciences
  The New School
  

• This wonderfully engaging film succeeds on several levels. As the story of a new form of entrepreneurism in contemporary Russia -- the mail order Russian bride business, it provides a balanced and informed perspective on the social, economic, demographic, and political forces driving this increasingly popular phenomenon. It also succeeds in quietly, but powerfully, exploring the definition of a viable marriage given such issues of inequality as those of resources, power, intelligence, age, and physical appeal. Finally, it succeeds as fine work of documentary filmmaking as it tackles a disturbing subject with humor, pathos, and irony. In the Name of Love will enlighten and provoke thoughtful discussion among students of such fields as Russian and East European politics and culture, women's studies, sociology, psychology, and family studies.

  Lisbeth L. Tarlow, PhD
  Associate Director
  Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
  Harvard University
  

• "...an amazing job in bringing the 'mail-order bride' genre to the screen."

  Sydney Pollack, Director

• This film provides a fascinating portrait of "mail-order" Russian brides and the western men who pursue them. In documenting the "romantic" journeys of several such couples, it grapples with the difficult decisions and issues facing Russian women today in terms of tremendous economic challenges and the difficulty in finding appropriate mates in Russia. A balanced and insightful work, it offers a frank look at the appeal of mail order marriage from both the perspective of the brides and their intended grooms. An engaging alternate view of modern family formation that will greatly enliven classroom discussion

  Saskia Subramanian,
  Ph.D., Sociologist,
  UCLA Center for the Study of Women
  

• All in all, it's a great movie for showing students what the lives and frustrations of average Russian women are like, and giving insight into what some of these women's aspirations are. Definitely great for classroom use.

  Susan Scotto,
  PhD, Senior Lecturer, Russian and Eurasian Studies,
  Mt. Holyoke College
  

Awards

CINE Golden Eagle
Best Documentary, Portland Women's Film Festival
Best Documentary, Temecula Film Festival
Honorable Mention, Berkeley Film & Video Festival