Oameni de treabă (2022): AKA Men of Deeds, the highly acclaimed movie by Paul Negoescu and the big winner of the Romanian GOPO awards, is one worthy of its praise. With Iulian Postelnicu playing an under-enthused police chief in a small village in North-East Romania, the movie tracks his ambitions to set-up his own orchard, while maneuvering the local politics (and crimes) of small town life. The story flows well, but beyond that, the writing is on spot, nuanced and often inherently humorous. Postelnicu’s performance confers his character the complicated dimensions he needs, while Negoescu establishes a very distinctive, slow-burning and, really, beautiful portrait of the film’s locations. In that sense, it’s not unlike my recently reviewed (and not loved) Inca doua lozuri, which also had a strong visual identity and rhythm. The difference, though, is that Oameni de treaba is a rewarding experience as a narrative and as a social examination as well. 8
Les enfants des autres (2022): After a bunch of successful (and hard-hitting) movies about the travails of motherhood, Les enfants is a good change of pace. Rebecca Zlotowski’s film tells Rachel’s story (Virgine Eifra), a woman around her forties who is faced with her diminishing follicle count. The desire to be a mother is framed at a personal level, in a touching foray that encapsulates the complexity as well as the profoundly human craving to be a part of life in this way. It is all beautifully intimate, not without humor, joy and romance, this portrait of a woman who is definitely more than just one thing. 8
Inimi cicatrizate (2016): It’s been more than a decade since I read Inimi cicatrizate (Scarred Hearts), so I’m not really in a position to compare the book with the movie. Radu Jude has admittedly been liberal in his adaptation for the big screen, particularly as far as the story’s tone and rhythm are concerned. It’s part of the reason why I failed to fully resonate and engage with the story, in spite of being shaken to my existential core while reading the book. Of course, that in itself sets a high standard, even more so when the references are obscured by time. That being said, it’s difficult not to feel taken in by Jude’s many visual plays, the vistas and the creative framing, which come closer to express the essence of this tragic tale than the dialogue and characters. We are talking about a living, breathing film and the visual compositions in Scarred Hearts ultimately find their way past all the dead tissue to make some lasting memory. Full review here. 7
In Good Company (2004): This family fare by Paul Weitz (hot off the heels of doing About a Boy) might be light at times, but a finely balanced cast manages to squeeze more authenticity than I hoped for. Dennis Quaid, all-American dad, Topher Grace, likable sleaze and Scarlett Johannson, perfect daughter, inhabit familiar, yet likable characters, in a story about…aggressive business expansion: the corpo-lords are bad, the old-school guys are good, this is where the movie doesn’t do much to shake your perceptions. When all is said and done though, there’s more to like than to dislike, with the occasional surprising development that elevates IGC beyond expectations. 7
Meg 2: The Trench (2023): I didn’t expect much of the Meg-equel, given that the first one didn’t make an impression on me at all. My hopes were pinned on director Ben Wheatley, known for some off-beat movies like Sightseers (2012) and Free Fire (2016), but there’s little in terms of off-beat here. All Meg 2 does is build up towards the inevitable “See you later, chum” one-liner, which is part of a tolerable action bonanza to wrap up the story. The story, though, is not exciting and the movie is inexplicably slow – to which you can add the 3D only cinema release and you are well and over the line marking what’s tolerable. It’s just not a lot of fun. 4
tributary stu 