Love by Request (1982)

Love by Request is special because it treats romance not as fate or fireworks, but as a curious experiment—then gently proves there’s nothing clinical about real human longing. With a witty, intelligent script and a tone that glides from playful comedy to tender drama, it watches two lonely souls try to “engineer” love and, in the process, stumble into truths about pride, vulnerability, and the small bargains we make with ourselves. Yevgeniya Glushenko’s performance gives the story its heartbeat, turning what could’ve been a gimmick into something warm, lived-in, and quietly affecting. It’s also slyly observant about its world, offering subtle social commentary without ever abandoning its charm—though if you’re looking for glossy romance, this one’s more bittersweet, thoughtful, and deeply human.

Love by Request is clearly aiming for a bittersweet Soviet-era rom-com with a cynical edge, using Igor and Vera’s “psychological conditioning” romance as a commentary on loneliness, self-deception, and the desperate ways people try to feel something. The problem is that it can come off marginal and emotionally manipulative, with ambiguous, sometimes uncomfortable beats that don’t always land as intended and may feel more painful than poignant. If you’re expecting a genuinely funny, swoony romance or a clean moral arc, this may frustrate you and linger more as an oddity than a favorite. Still, if you’re patient with rougher, mood-driven storytelling and like films that flirt with discomfort to make a point, there’s a certain sad sincerity here that might work for you.