Review of The Dark Matter of Love (2012) by Spencer S — 13 Jan 2015

This is an intimate, uncomfortable, often perturbed portrait of a couple of parents with an older child who adopt three Russian orphans all at the same time, and bring them back home to Wisconsin. The family is strangely optimistic when they bring their children home for the first time.

They wear big, congenial smiles, and hug all their supporters when arriving at the airport. Though their children all only speak Russian this family only communicates to them in loud English, constantly.

Two psychologists walk the parents through the footage, trying to bond them all together, and giving insight into the convoluted lives of these people. In many scenes there are severe arguments between the new children and their adoptive parents, where the children call them names, scream, and act out.

Tired, emotionally exhausted, and hoping for a better outcome, the parents give their children nothing but love and understanding, though they still struggle to understand. It's uncomfortable and quite sad, but it's also realistic to the plight of many new parents who utilize international adoption.

Real and uncompromising, this may be one of the more important documentaries on this subject.