Casatoria

I expected this film to be bad, as (relatively high-budget) Romanian comedies usually are lately, but it was an utter disappointment. It was the first time I ever felt the urge to leave my seat in the cinema. The script is lamentable, the jokes are grotesquely lame, the anachronistic setting fails to create anything other than sheer confusion, and the crude caricatures of the characters were painfully lacklustre. Especially since I had high expectations from Bendeac who gives off the impression of an erudite. Also, the covert shoutout to gambling companies are simply disgusting. Overall, it's an hodgepodge meant for cheap laughs and commercial success.

I kept watching this movie till the end just to see how low a story can go. Nothing to see at the ridiculous characters placed at the border of nowhere while the touch of local music and kitsch is beyond comprehension and taste. Producer and actor Mihai Bendeac seems to have a wrong understanding of cinematic arts when he projects his artistic vision on the screen and employs a blend of Romanian music celebrities just to make the film even less convincing. The only inspired move was to place the story a century ago, back the days when Romania was not yet touched by modern "values", yet the set was troubled by grotesque costumes and vulgar tattoos. A total kitsch-hock.

This movie was under my expectations given the talent of Mihai Bendeac, and the two main things that made this movie bad are the script and the music.

The problem with the script is that the characters are simply poorly written, predictable, based of cliches and simple jokes. It was like I was watching a children's movie because of the exaggerated traits of each character. There were also some characters that seemed like product placement because they are celebrities and their roles brought nothing.

The mixing of present day and past also was poorly executed, and if the director really wanted to do it, it could have been definetly made better.

The music also seemed totally out of place like product placement, inserted to appeal to the masses and reminded me of the other romanian movies that have come out lately that are clearly made for profit and no one wanted thought about making a good movie, but making a good profit.

I tried not to give a subjective rating given that the film is Romanian and Mihai Bendeac is a multitalented man. The movie was below my expectations. The lines, the jokes or the action were sometimes mixed inappropriately... it's like when I try to make a cake with all my favorite ingredients without taking into account that some of them are not compatible.

The logistical effort to make this film is to be appreciated, but I am convinced that it can be done even better; maybe Mihai Bendeac should call on a team of professionals to help him with the creative part and he should limit himself to making and acting in the film.

With a significantly better script than this combined with the Bendeac style, I think something more valuable could come out!

I want to start by saying that I am not a fan of comedies and I went to this movie without any expectations and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this movie.

The cinematography and sound are exceptional, as are the costumes, and the actors also do a wonderful job. Although I liked that very good actors were used in small roles such as Anca Dinicu because you need something like that to have a perfect film, I am still disappointed that Ilona Brezoianu did not have a bigger role because I think she would have be perfectly suited, the scene in which she appears is one of my favorites. Another thing that I didn't like was the role of Pintileasa, who gave me the feeling that he tried a technique that he doesn't master very well. I don't know if that's how the character was written or if he was just empty trying to play it, but I can say for sure that in my opinion it was a weak role, instead Vlad Dragulin completely stole the show and I really recommend you to see this movie 2 times, and the second time just keep your eyes on Dragulin regardless of what happens in the movie and you will definitely not regret it. He was exceptional in the role of Arsenie. As for Bendeac, I can say that he was very good in his usual quality as a great actor, and being the director of the film, I can understand why he was not the main actor. I also really liked the role of Lidoscika, which seemed to me a very difficult one full of extremely well portrayed facial expressions. I couldn't wait for the film to finish to check on my phone who is the actress who played this difficult role, if she is one with great experience or one less known who plays a big role. I also liked the actors who played the roles of her parents, both of them very good and it can be seen that they are actors with great experience.

Another thing that I didn't like besides that of the main actor is that the film has a direction of parody in certain moments which in my opinion was not necessary.

After all, it is a very good movie, you will definitely not get bored and don't forget my advice, if you afford, try to see it twice, the second time only with your eyes on Vlad Dragulin and you will actually see 2 different movies, one better than the other.