Aferim!

Set in 1835 in Walachia, Romania, we meet Consatndin who is a Constable – he is accompanied by his eager but less effective son – Ionita. They are chasing an escaped slave, this is a Roma man who has stolen money and run away from a Boyar (who has the most impressive hat imaginable).

Along the way the two men come across many more Roma – whom they refer to as 'Crows' (because crows are black) and treat them like the underclass they believe them to be. They also run into a number of other – less than savoury – characters including the World's most xenophobic Priest. What follows is story that can be seen as comedic, harrowing and at times almost bewildering in its depiction of what times were like. The enslavement of the Roma is a subject rarely mentioned and so this is groundbreaking in many ways.

It is filmed in black and white and is lit in such a way to make this seem many years older than it is, Director Radu Jude said this is a western and did a lot to evoke the early westerns in theme and composure of the story, but he has also created a film that is unique too. There is violence here and scenes that some may find upsetting but it is just an amazing watch. Languages are Romanian, Turkish and Roma with OK sub titles to be fair. The title 'Aferim' means 'bravo' in Turkish and as the Romanians hated the Ottoman Empire it is ironic that they use this word as a form of praise – but that is intentional. Nominated for the 88th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film I feel this is in with rather a big chance and is a film that I can absolutely recommend to all World cinema fans.

an useful film. for understand the roots of modern Romania. a beautiful one. for archaic language's flavor, for the nuances of emotions, for the powerful clichés who defines the Walachian society not only in the year 1835. a seductive film. for the good performances, for the crumbs from great films, for the art to broke the limits between artistic film and documentary. an interesting film. for the science to reflect a period's deep lines of life. for humanity and for the grace of details. for the art not to remand but recreate not only a portrait but a state . for dialogs and for the values. for something who reflects the profound Romania behind the definitions or verdicts. Teodor Corban does an admirable job and Radu Jude becomes more than a promise for Romanian cinema. because, for the foreign public Aferim ! could be a slice of exotic world from Balkans in the XIX century. for the Romanians it represents chain of answers for a lot of questions. and, maybe, an exercise of honesty.

Being based on lots of writings from that era, I suppose that this movie reflects a fair image of life in Tara Romaneasca (Wallachia) of the 19th Century, with its' patterns and prejudices. It probably does some justice to today's Romani, when Europe encounters them again and there is no narrative to explain who their ancestors were. And maybe it does some justice to today's Romanians too, when the European public finds out what is the distinction between Romanians and Romani.

The movie can evoke amusement, disapproval, empathy. However, the spectator discovers more and more that comedy turns to tragedy.

I appreciate the fact that Aferim has complex characters that are not entirely positive or negative.

Indeed, you have to know the 19th century background of Romania, however it portraits it in a very good manner: the atmosphere of the epoch and the subject is dealt with in depth! It seems that we already saw this movie (or its subject)with other slaves (mostly black people in other countries endorsing slavery)however this one is a special case.All actors are excellent and the black and white colors intensify the dramatic aspects (wonderful forest takes!). I am lucky to know modern Romanian, because the dialog is very important, revealing the behavior, tradition and prejudices of the time (that in some areas of the country are still there...)far away from so called "politically correctness" endorsed in the western culture!(watch the priest opinion about different nations, especially the Jews!). In relation to dialogue, the last sentences of the father to his shocked son are an excellent example of how most of the people behave in face of horrors and injustice!

A runaway gypsy slave in early 19th-century Wallachia is hunted down by a constable and his son in Radu Jude's most accomplished and original feature yet, "Aferim!" In his two previous films, Jude's leitmotif was people's inhumanity to one another, full of power games and humiliations. Here he stays true to the theme, using this black-and-white oater to trace the roots of Romanian society's less positive characteristics. While its tone is occasionally overly strident, "Aferim!" is an exceptional, deeply intelligent gaze into a key historical period, done with wit as well as anger.

"Aferim!" is an Ottoman Turkish expression meaning "bravo!," a word used with deep irony in the film but one that can equally be directed, without any irony, at the director. A great deal of the freshness lies in the way Jude dispenses with traditional historical-film trappings even while cleaving to the classic structure of fugitive-hunting Westerns.There's nothing staid or prettified here, and while a significant amount of background research is on show, the helmer uses it to re-create an atmosphere rather than a specific, sacrosanct event.