Endstation Paradies

A story of several events all related to a crazy guy wanting a girl no matter what. Numerous adventures more or less deadly along the path to paradise.

One meaning of "Terminus Paradis" is that all trains have to stop somewhere. This is true for human beings too as all of their journeys must inevitably end somewhere. This is precisely something which the maverick Romanian master Lucian Pintilie has shown in his film. At its core "Terminus Paradis" is an eccentric love story par excellence. When I say an eccentric love story, I mean that in this poignant story the end is not something which the lovers had always anticipated.The leading actress Dorina Chiriac has a charming doll like face. This has surely helped her to give dazzling touches to her very naive looking character. A lot can be said about Costel Cascaval's acting talents too. He has given a solid, convincing performance.Enjoy this film by drinking a lot of beer.

a cry. or , maybe, a parable. strange at first sigh. and painful confession about reality, dream, looking for happiness, definition of life. to say that it is a film by Lucian Pintilie could be enough. but not only the dark story, with a memorable last scene, not the profound message who can be understand only by East European public in its essential dimension are important but the fascinate performances of Dorina Chiriac and Costel Cașcaval. a film of fury and escapes, revenge against yourself and run to death, it is perfect example of beauty of mud and force of small people. aphorisms and crumbs from other films by Pintilie. and step of a personal fight against the images of every day reality of one of the most important Romanian directors.

Terminus Paradis in one word: a mirror of real life, with shocking ideas, shocking words and images. Under this, a simple, but exhaustive analysis of post-communist Romanian life. The simple action, built on an American-like image, shows the pathological typology of the new "capitalist" mentality, adapted from the elder East-European one. The reactions of post-communist changes are different. Violence, on one side (like Cafanu, the hero of the story) and passivity, on the other side (like his colonel) are just a flash aimed on the Romanian mind.

gray, cruel, cynical, poetic, dramatic, touching, maybe strange. the film of a state of soul. film of a profound crisis. and image of hope's lost. out of brutal language remains its special beauty. few magnificent scenes, few crazy scenes. and the splendid acting - Gheorghe Visu does one of his extraordinary roles. high result of a rare artistic team, work of a great director, it impose an admirable actor - Costel Cascaval who use , with force and precision, each trait of his character. a film about Romanian reality, a cry, it is a real good film. and after its end, that fact is only important. because the tension, the stories, the search of sense are only tools for an impressive movie. must see it ! and than it could become a kind of experience. not only an artistic one.