Love.net (2011)

In this film there are about a dozen different characters using computers, which is normal, given the topic. Fact is that all of them use Sony Vaio laptops. And there is not a single scene where the computer is present and the logo is absent. Good business.

First off - if some of the people here think that in any way they can express some patriotic statements and miss-leading ratings based on that in the global network, in a global site like IMDb - man, isn't that something not so clever..?Second - categorizing people by terms and behavior, in a movie review website is a sign that something is really wrong with the person doing it..Now, back to the review. To be honest - I've watched the movie long ago, and don't remember much concrete parts of it. But what's left is the most important - the feeling is alive. What comes to my mind when hearing about Love.net is "oh, I enjoyed it!". It doesn't matter if I'm a Bulgarian, Uzbek or Marsian, the fact is that I'll watch the movie again, not to return here and write a bunch of stuff to you, but because I have the feeling that I enjoyed the movie and I want to remember the details that made me feel this way. Love.net was, in my mind, the first truly modern Bulgarian Film Project. A movie, quite similar to US movies in ways of technical, aesthetic and visual appeal. One of the first Bulgarian movies, which is talking about something in the present and in the past. I gave the movie rate 7 out of 10, because I remember that somehow the subject incorporated in the screenplay was good, but not deep enough. All in all - nice one.

First off, 8.4/10 is a ridiculous rating based on pseudo patriotic desire for "supporting" Bulgarian cinema. While it's true it needs our support, giving monstrously inaccurate and overestimated ratings on IMDb doesn't serve it good. This film, at very best, deserves a 5-6 score out of 10. This whole thing makes me sad. It's the same mindset that stops Bulgaria from being a "normal" country. It shows nothing more than our nation's deeply underlying insecurity and craving for approval from the outside world. A desperate craving for recognition. Well--not with this movie. It's mediocre and boring as hell. Wake up. Please wake up.

Generally I am quite interested in the Bulgarian cinema revival process and in my opinion this film is a step forward towards achieving this goal. Conditions in Bulgaria should be able to provide a self-sustaining movie industry, as this and a few other titles are/were quite popular in movie theaters across the country. But let's concentrate on the film. I'd say it has an interesting script, decent actors and very good cinematic qualities in terms of scene shooting, sound and some CGI to freshen up the atmosphere... A few jokes, a dose of female nudity here and there, a sprinkle of romantics at the end- all in the name of creating a good mood and reaching the masses. But if the authors wanted something more, they should have addressed a few issues. A friend of mine says that in order to convey a sufficient and complete story in a feature film you need at least 120 min. So when I saw that "Love.net" lasted 107 min I thought that probably something was missing. And indeed- a lot more could have been done in terms of character development and character depth. For example- I couldn't feel the inner conflict in the doctor's wife when she took the decision to play online games with her husband. It just came out of nowhere. I didn't catch when the elite prostitute fell in love with the journalist. Her attitude towards him remained mostly unchanged throughout the film and suddenly at the end she was deeply offended by the fact that he didn't use his own money to have sex with her, that one time she charged him for the service... The story kind of fell apart there. Some acting issues can also be noted. The Englishmen were jolly good chaps, but let's face it- they were terrible actors. The realistic rating would probably be around 6.7 if a few thousand people vote. Like I said- not bad.