Pages of Love

A woman attempts to find the ideal man, while taking relevant advice from her mother.

Single mum Samantha wants to find the right man for her and is having trouble doing so. Her supportive and optimistic mother gives her advice about the qualities she should be looking out for when she meets potential companions. After several unsuccessful efforts, Samantha finally meets Mariano, a friendly and well-meaning man who appears to be ticking all the right boxes. Could this be the man for her?

This feature is a romantic comedy that explores themes of romance, religion, the development of relationships and taking the right advice regarding what makes a good partner. The narrative follows the progress that Samantha makes with Mariano, while she repeatedly listens to her mother as she tells her about what she believes are the best characteristics a man can have. The screenplay keeps switching between the dates with Mariano and her mother advicing her. Samantha and Mariano spend time together going horseriding, eating in restaurants or relax in Mariano's home doing various activities. Mariano comes across as friendly and helpful, while Samantha is a bit sceptical. There are sweet and moving moments and there are moments of drama.

There are many chapters throughout this film, each of which is introduced with a title card and they are used to specify how many times Samantha has seen Mariano, the number of dates she had with men who were inappropriate and the times her mum advices her about men, which are structured in alphabetical order, meaning that every time a new lesson begins, the title card reads ''Pages of Love A-B-C'', ''Pages of Love D-E-F'' etc., and it goes all the way to Z throughout the movie and each letter represents the first letter of a word that desctibes a decent man. This use of title cards is amusing and helps understand the story better.

The editing includes creative wipe techniques that resemble a page being turned and by utilising this method, the filmmakers reference the film's title. Many scenes consist of long takes, with the camera stationary and the soundtrack is entertaining.

This feature is a love story and a comedy and it is interesting enough to watch and the acting is OK. The production value indicates that filming was done on a small budget and occasionally the audio does not sound good. Nevertheless, this does not prevent this movie from being a decent achievement.