Review by Doug Cooper
Stars Andreea Bosneag, Vasile Muraru, Violeta Harel Popa, Serban Pavlu, Andi Vaslulanu, Alexandra Georgescu, Diana Gheorgian, Luminata Stoianovici, Bogdan Marhodin
Written by Radu Jude & Augustina Stanciu
Certification UK 15
Runtime 100 minutes
Directed by Radu Jude
A subtitled Romanian drama that's believably depicted but is never as pertinent or hard hitting as it thinks it is. One major fault is that all the characters remain resolutely unsympathetic. And as you can never warm to them it's hard to take pity or become involved in their plight.
It centres around shy 18-year-old Delia (Bosnaeg) who has won a car in a competition and has to attend a shoot for an advert that uses real people as opposed to actors in extolling the company's virtues. The simple task involves her getting in her new car and saying a couple of lines about her win while imbibing a soft drink. She travels with her parents to the set and they are adamant that she must give up the car once the contract is signed so they can sell it and set up their own business from the proceeds. Delia, though, wants to keep the vehicle even though she can't drive. While she and her selfish parents are having fevered discussions they are constantly harrassed by the crew in wanting the shots completed.
All this is rendered with almost documentary like realism - the director, cameraman, first AD and make-up lady are all perfectly cast and utterly right for their respective roles - completely natural in going about their tasks while getting increasingly impatient as the light fades. The client is insistent on big smiles at all times while the producer wants a change of scenery. Delia takes all this in her stride and the actors are faultless in playing the charged family dynamic. But their scenes drag on too long and some judicious pruning would have been welcome. A few sly laughs are embedded but this serio-comic effort isn't nearly as biting as it should be. It's too slowly paced to satisfy.