Mimosas (2016)
★★★☆☆
Oliver Laxe’s second film Mimosas is an enigmatic, spiritual North African odyssey.
Romania
Ana, Mon Amour (2017)
★★★☆☆
An intimate portrait of the codependency of love, Cãlin Peter Netzer’s Ana, Mon Amour falters through its very male gaze.
BFI LFF 2016: Sieranevada (2016)
★★★☆☆
Taking place in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attack, Cristi Puiu’s Sieranevada reveals a family in turmoil when the patriarch dies.
Sieranevada (2016)
★★★★☆
Festival Review: Why Me? / De Ce Eu? (2015)
★★★☆☆
More an existential dilemma than a corruption thriller, Tudor Giurgiu’s Why Me? is an important but longwinded tribute to the man who fought the law.
Festival Review: Aferim! (2015)
★★☆☆☆
A black and white romp through 19th century Romanian feudalism, what Radu Jude’s Aferim! lacks in substance, it makes up for in style.
Child’s Pose / Pozitia Copilului (2013)
★★★★☆
Seeing a way to reassert control over her adult son’s life when he runs over and kills a child, an affluent Romanian woman sets out on a campaign of emotional and social manipulation to keep him out of prison, navigating the waters of power, corruption and influence.
Aurora (2010)
★★★☆☆
Darkly ruminative, Cristi Puiu’s Aurora is a slow-burning murder mystery like you’ve never seen before.
Police, Adjective / Politist, Adjectiv (2009)
★★★★☆
Cuffed and bound, a changing Romania is put in the dock in Corneliu Porumboiu’s Police, Adjective when a conscience-niggled policeman starts questioning the law.
The Happiest Girl In The World / Cea Mai Fericita Fata Din Lume (2009)
★★★☆☆
When winning becomes a losing battle, Radu Jude’s The Happiest Girl In The World casts a sly glance over Romania’s troublingly capitalist embrace.