directed by Radu Jude, drama, historical comedy, 108 min, eng subtitles
written by Radu Jude, Florin Lãzãrescu
with Teodor Corban, Mihai Comanoiu, Toma Cuzin, Luminita Gheorghiu
In 19th century Romania, Costandin (50), a policeman, and his son Ionita (15) travel through the south of the country in search of a fugitive gypsy slave. Costandin is a charismatic mixture of a funny Stalin and a somewhat more pragmatic Don Quixote. While Ionita seems to be quite the opposite: more like Dostoyevsky's ‘Idiot’, finding himself in the unfortunate situation of having to settle his inner turmoil while riding, or holding a sword or a gun. Their road winds through exotic landscapes and they meet various characters along the way. Eventually they capture the poor man on the run...
With its impressive black and white cinematography and a good dose of clever humour and sharp cynicism, this ‘Eastern’ manages to portray an authentic image of an historical period and the social situation of Roma at that time, with clear parallels with the present day. Radu Jude, a CinEast regular, was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director for Aferim! at this year’s Berlinale.
Awards
Berlinale, 2015 (Silver Bear for Best Director)
Sofia IFF 2015 (Special Mention)
IndieLisboa 2015 (Feature Film Grand Prize)