When the movie started, first the names of corporate sponsors rolled down, then the jokes.
This movie, as I had expected, took a caricatural shot at Romania during socialist period but the timing could not have been worse, as capitalism collapsed around the world spectacularly.
The movie told the stories simply but efficiently and displayed daily lives of Romanians before their transformation to a free market economy.
What I liked about the movie was to see inside the houses and rural villages of Romania during socialism. To see their naivete , when they expect an inspection by a government official, when they drink and have fun, even when they steal stuff. In capitalism by contrast you need to have grand schemes, people with thousand dollar suits and a little help from the government in order to steal. But the payoff is not a few dollars like in socialism but trillions of them!
To paraphrase the slogan in the movie: Legend has it that the ex-socialist countries of Latvia and Letonia are in the brink of bankruptcy just like Iceland. Romania is in pretty bad shape too, like other Eastern European countries. So basically it takes 50 years of socialism to build a country from the ashes of WWII and only 20 years of capitalism to bankrupt it. Pretty good deal, now they will have to learn to slave for capitalism for the rest of their lives! I watched the movie during Istanbul Film Days, the movie was a bit long and people got bored towards the end. Acting was great, directing was solid.
And as final note may I suggest the director Cristian Mingiu to cut back on listening to Radio Free Europe and see films by Michael Moore and learn a bit what is happening at the den of capitalism. Legend has it that the corporations left and right are getting a little socialist help from their government!
This movie, as I had expected, took a caricatural shot at Romania during socialist period but the timing could not have been worse, as capitalism collapsed around the world spectacularly.
The movie told the stories simply but efficiently and displayed daily lives of Romanians before their transformation to a free market economy.
What I liked about the movie was to see inside the houses and rural villages of Romania during socialism. To see their naivete , when they expect an inspection by a government official, when they drink and have fun, even when they steal stuff. In capitalism by contrast you need to have grand schemes, people with thousand dollar suits and a little help from the government in order to steal. But the payoff is not a few dollars like in socialism but trillions of them!
To paraphrase the slogan in the movie: Legend has it that the ex-socialist countries of Latvia and Letonia are in the brink of bankruptcy just like Iceland. Romania is in pretty bad shape too, like other Eastern European countries. So basically it takes 50 years of socialism to build a country from the ashes of WWII and only 20 years of capitalism to bankrupt it. Pretty good deal, now they will have to learn to slave for capitalism for the rest of their lives! I watched the movie during Istanbul Film Days, the movie was a bit long and people got bored towards the end. Acting was great, directing was solid.
And as final note may I suggest the director Cristian Mingiu to cut back on listening to Radio Free Europe and see films by Michael Moore and learn a bit what is happening at the den of capitalism. Legend has it that the corporations left and right are getting a little socialist help from their government!