User Reviews

I've just seen this film last weekend at a little alternative cinema. It sounded promising and surely was. I found the film very moving, because in a way the actions of the author might be seen by todays standards as "wrong", because he gives away information to the secret police, but on the other hand you can see how this is his only chance for survival. And even that is not really true, as a Communist system such as the one in Romania under Ceaucescu was so much more powerful than the will and struggle for survival of a single citizen. Go see this film if you want to get a glimpse into life in socialism if you weren't one of the conformists, but at least tried to live a life that was sticking to your own rules of integrity and doing-the-right-thing. Very good. Only let-down: why in French? And this was no dubbing. If it is about Romania and the actors are Romanian, why not let them speak their language?

Having seen this movie more than 10 years ago, I can clearly recollect the movie, its cadence and its emotional weight. Critics in Holland called it baroque, I found it like an opera, it feels like 15 minutes, but in fact it's been 90. Profoundly emotional, it is one of the few movies worthy of depicting the confines of the Eastern European dictatorship, staying true to its human side. Rhythm is not dictated by imagery such as Wong KarWai, it is secondary to slowly unfolding plot, the wonderful photography and acting leading to an inevitable climax. Thematically universal and timeless. The director has been recognized and found his untimely praise for his more recent film.