Câini

The landscape plays a central role in Dogs (Caini) the first long feature film of Romanian director Bogdan Mirica. Visuals, actually, together with acting play the most important tasks in this film, which is very different from many other features that can be seen on commercial screens or in festivals. One may say this is at the expense of story telling, although there are a few very interesting elements in the story as well. It takes place in a frontier land, at the Eastern border of Romania, where wild fields burnt by the sun meet the Danube at the end of its trip across Europe. As many frontier spaces, it's a place with its own rules, where applying state laws and even morality or simple human laws implies risks. It is also a space which is far from cities and civilization, but not from the side effects of urban crime and especially of corruption which seems a recurring theme in all Romanian movies (it was featured in all the three Romanian films I have seen at the International Film Festival in Haifa).

There are two sources of inspiration for this combination of strong drama and violent thriller. The first can be found in the deep history of Romanian literature which had a distinct naturalistic trend at the end of the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century, with tough stories and characters in short stories and novels about family feuds, conflicts about owning land, and erotic passionate intrigues, mostly located in the Romanian rural space (which was at that time the dominant social environment). The second one is from the gangster and horror movies of the last two decades. I do not know whether Tarantino has seen this film, but I am pretty sure that Mirica has seen Tarantino's, as well as some of the Korean horror movies. The combination of the two sources of inspiration together with the excellent sound and image work, plus a dose of humor, make some of the toughest scenes that I have seen lately surprisingly palatable.

Acting is in many cases the strong part in Romanian films, which owes so much to an excellent local school of theater acting. I will start with the relatively weaker role - the one of the young man from the city who inherits his grandfather's property and comes in the strange area, triggering the events. Dragos Bucur fights with a role that is incompletely conceived, maybe intentionally. This weaker part is compensated by the splendid role of the old policeman (Gheorghe Visu), dying of an incurable disease, whose last and pathetic fight to fix things that have gone wrong so many years, a role which brings together moral fiber, emotion, and humor. The trio is completed by the local gang leader played by Vlad Ivanov, one of the top actors of Romania today, if not simply the best, an actor who cannot do wrong.

'Caini' belongs to a new phase of the Romanian cinema. No more 'New Wave', no more Communism or transition as principal themes. Another type of story, a different approach to film making. Aesthetics are at least as important as the story. There are many good reasons to see this film, quite different from many other. Go for it.

How do you handle a pack of barking dogs? The same way you handle a gang of drug dealers. The same way you handle an informant or your girlfriend. Control is the key to this superb quasi-horror movie that starts with the weirdest use of silverware in the history of cinematography and ends with an eviscerated Police (also a dog). It's all about control, about acquiring, maintaining and abusing power. In "Dogs," control of border town smugglers is exerted via verbal and physical terror. The audience however is subjected to a more subtle version of manipulation, via simple questions such as "Did you have a hammer?" We are all under the spell of Bogdan Mirica's brilliance and monitored anger. Mirica doesn't leave anything to chance: he wrote the script, directed, edited and picked up the actors with the talent and fervor of a master creator. And what can I say other than: Terrific movie!

Gheorge Visu carefully constructs a policeman (Hogas) using small gestures and soft syllables, barely moving, calmly shifting the attention to other characters, with a most impressing minimalism and modesty. His exceptional performance is only matched by Vlad Ivanov's portrayal of the smugglers' ring leader Samil, the alpha dog. If there was justice in this world, these two actors would have been already on the front page of international cinema magazines. Dragos Bucur and Raluca Aprodu seem out of place, which is in fact consistent with the nature of their characters - big city people lost in the middle of nowhere.

So, pay attention! Here is what you have to do: buy tickets, go watch this movie, take detailed notes, and then write down two hundred times "I hate dogs!" It is all about control.

The entire movie is definitely an experience in itself. Most thrillers, currently, feel like cheap re-makes, over-emphasizing things just to get you to the thrill point or are just plainly considering their audiences as dumb-people (except for the Coen Brothers and Fincher... and some other guys that make a movie once every 3 years). Caini is not like most thrillers. It's a movie, not something that can be done in the theater. Its cinematography is brilliant and in most cases it shows you things, it doesn't point to them. It is a slow-paced visual experience that, in many cases, takes you to be boiling point by making you over-think things. Slow shots and very slow technical zooms have the upper hand of taking you into the heart of the action. While the story is simple, and I won't say anything more than just what's written in the synopsis, I'll say that the actors do an amazing job, and the character development is astounding considering the limited dialog. Music and sound are two features that usually destroy Romanian movies by just being bad. This one doesn't. It has, perhaps, the best sound I've heard in a Romanian movie, and the music, little as it is, is actually awesome and carefully constructed. There are plenty of other things to say about this movie. It's funny sometimes and it does have its mistakes, hence the 9 out of 10, but it's one of the best Romanian movies and one of the best thrillers I've seen. Can't wait to re- watch it.

I wish they made more movies like this than any Hollywood motions! Gave me all the chills , the atmosphere of the movie kept me interested at all times , the script was more than expected and the actors ..well I mean.. just go ahead and watch this masterpiece , a true thriller indeed .

One of my favorite favorite favorite movie ! Best acting ! Best directing ! Best real life !