My Love is a 2007 animated short film from Russia (26 minutes) directed by Aleksandr Petrov.
It is about a 16-year-old boy named Anton. Anton belongs to a well-to-do family and lives in a small rural town in Tsarist Russia. Anton, being a teenaged boy, is obsessed with women. Specifically he is obsessed with two different women. Pasha, the family maid, is sweet and kind. Serafima, the woman next door—Anton calls her a "goddess"—is mysterious and elusive, and seems to have some kind of secret. Anton falls in love with both of them. Surprisingly, both of the women start to fall for him.
Done with Petrov's signature paint-on-glass technique.
Tropes:
- Betty and Veronica: Pasha, warm and affectionate. Serafima, cool and mysterious. Pasha: blonde. Serafima: brunette.
- Brain Fever: Anton falls victim to some sort of illness that is actually called "brain fever" after the end of his relationship with Serafima.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Either of them, for the Downer Ending. After he rejects Serafima for her bad eye and Pasha leaves, he's left alone. He seems to regret Pasha more, calling her his lost love.
- Mind Screw: Much of the short is taken up with the boy's dreams and fantasies, to the point where it's not always clear what is happening and what is or isn't real. Was the herdsman murdered? Probably not. Did a house burn down? Maybe. Was the coachman gored by a bull that got loose? Maybe.
- Never Learned to Read: Pasha, like most of the peasantry in tsarist Russia. Anton is shown teaching her from an alphabet book.
- Organ Grinder: How dull was life in rural Russia? An organ grinder showing up in the square is a goddamn event.
- Poor Man's Porn: No Playboy in tsarist Russia, so the men of the village have to make do with some guy who shows up in the town square with a sort of peep box, where you look through the viewhole and see a series of pictures of naked ladies.
- The Reveal: Serafima doesn't wear those round glasses because they're cool, she wears them because she lost one of her eyes and has a glass one instead.
- Round Hippie Shades: Serafima is never seen without her cool-looking blue-tinted Lennon Frames. It seems like the glasses are to make her look more sophisticated and stylish, as opposed to humble Pasha, until the end reveals that she has a much different reason for wearing them.
- Swing Low, Sweet Harriet: Serafima is often seen swinging on a swing, her long hair and dress flowing.
- Taking the Veil: Anton wakes up from his "brain fever", only to be told that Pasha prayed to God and swore to join a convent if he recovered, and did so.
- Uptown Girl: The boy worries over the difficulties of marrying a servant girl when he is of the uppercrust.
