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The Worst Film Ever

How sad is this?

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Those who like action in their films (as one reviewer well put it: guns, paedophiles, crazy driving, genius scientists, blacks and drugs, stock exchange, apocalypse, Bruce Willis saving the world, Asian crime gangs, etc --things that have no place in Romanian society)- will not like this film. I confess I found it a little boring until the final emotional scene where the actress playing the wife gives an astonishing portrayal of grief, which I will never forget. Utterly convincing. The rest is a deliberately mundane account of adultery between two very uninteresting, i.e. normal, people, who obviously enjoy, whether they know this or not, the thrill and the deception -- playing their pre-ordained roles in the time-honoured way of us human beings. One can admire the artistry with which the mundane is conscientiously portrayed but asking at the same time 'Do I need to see this? I prefer Bruce Willis'. The saving grace, for me, was, as I have said, the betrayal scene and the subsequent reaction of the wife. The other two are really no more than ciphers. The husband is completely without charm,vigour or grace, whomever he is with and the mistress is just that, and no better for being a professional (dentist). So film buffs may rave, while I acknowledge the qualities of the film, but say that it is not really the sort of material which I like to spend 90 minutes of my timer with. Correction: true, but that actress added something to my life in the last 15 minutes of the film.

Although the movie appears to be a modern day cliché in film making just by reading the plot summary, it is anything but. Yes it's a story about a much used concept of love triangles, yes it's a story about heartbreaks and infidelity, but seldom does one see a movie taking out the time to delicately develop the situational markers, the palpitating tension and the deep-rooted feeling of guilt and remorse. This movie paints an unadulterated picture of love, disloyalty and heartbreak. Where other movies include this concept as a plot enhancement or twist, director Radu Muntean sketches a brilliant exposé on a man's struggle between his love and his guilt amidst the delicate balance of family.

A Romanian man must choose between his wife and his lover. The pacing is very deliberate. Scenes are filmed in long takes and little happens in terms of plot or action. However, the leisurely approach allows the viewer to get to know the characters, who are all very real. The characters and situations are so real that one can empathize with their plight. The acting is excellent all around. Branescu is not able to shine in the unsympathetic role of the man in the love triangle. However, Oprisor as the wife and Popistasu as the lover both turn in wonderfully natural performances. Muntean is a talented writer-director, someone to keep an eye on.

Nice opening scene, and that's it!We meet the characters, but are never given any reason to care about what happens to them... there's no reason for one woman to love this jerk (the male lead), let alone two. No motivation is given for any of the characters' actions. All of the dialog is trite, predictable, and banal. The only bright note is a small, ordinary child, with one cute line about Barbie toys. I hope she gets to act in a better movie!I watched this with my husband, and usually we both like foreign films (we lived in Germany for many years). But this film proves that Europeans can produce clunkers just like Hollywood.You end up hoping they'll all be drowned in the Danube (except the kid).