No esperes demasiado del fin del mundo

Radu Jude's Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World is a blistering indictment of modern capitalism, disguised as a workplace comedy. The film follows an overworked production assistant tasked with creating a safety video for a multinational corporation, only to have the project derailed by a whistleblower's exposé.

What follows is a chaotic, darkly humorous descent into the heart of corporate greed and societal indifference. Jude's film is a masterclass in satire, using absurd situations and deadpan delivery to expose the systemic failures that underpin our world. The pacing is relentless, mirroring the frenetic pace of modern life, and the performances are uniformly excellent.

While the film's runtime is lengthy, it never feels indulgent. Every scene serves a purpose, contributing to the overall message. It's a challenging watch, but a deeply rewarding one. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World is essential viewing for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of contemporary society.

I live in Romania and this is the most acurate and realistic movie I've seen in my life and I watched over 2000 movies. I truly hope that life outside of Romania has another perspectives and values but I suspect that this toxic recipe is applied in all the "modern" countries of the world.

The movie captures in a perfect way the hoax of a "modern" life, lived in a big city. Deppresion, anxiety, regrets, fake smiles, competition, survival, degeneration and destruction. The parralel drawn between the modern days presented in black and white and the communist times presented in colour mark a huge contrast between an organic way of life and this jungle we dare to call civilisation today.

A huge masterpiece and an extremely harsh and realistic account of today's "society." Anyone who is more bothered by swearing than by corruption, ignorance and obedience is by definition a modern slave. This is the true message of the movie. It's time to stop exchanging fake smiles for money and status and start being human again.

Angela is a movie Production Assistant in Bucharest, overworked and underpaid. Romanians seem to be suffering from inflation, blamed on the Ukrainian war. In this story, she is part of the team shooting a workplace safety video for a multinational compamy.

In day 1, she is frantically racing around (on streets where the other drivers are crazy), interviewing injured workers who are potential subjects, doing other errands, and squeezing in some personal time as well. This part is shot in black and white, to distinguish it from the color sequences, which illustrate the back story of some of the characters of the day, and also her alter ego, a sex-obsessed bald man. However, at 2-3/4 hours I find this extraneous, plus there is an overlong sequence of the crosses along a road memorializing traffic accident victims. Deduct one star for this "creativity".

For day 2 (before lunch break), the selected subject (and selected family members) are assembled at the site of the accident for the shoot. Contrasting with the previous day, this is basically a fixed camera situation, assuming that this is the camera that is shooting the actual corporate video. Complications happen, including the "big boss" demanding his own creative idea - not prevously expressed.

The film is a moderately interesting slice of life in Romania, and it is up to the viewer as to whether the creative touches add (according to some critics) or subtract (according to me) to its enjoyment.

Angela, the overworked and underpaid production assistant, drives through chaotic Bucharest, trying to film castings for a commercial. Completely stressed out and exhausted, she desperately seeks a few minutes of peace, but her boss keeps calling, telling her to drink a strong coffee or a Red Bull and to keep working. The ringtone on Angela's phone when work calls is "Ode to Joy" - the EU anthem.

A film that couldn't be more cynical. It's an authentic critique of society and capitalism, wrapped in bold, crude situational humor. The West-especially Austria, the country that in recent years blocked Romania from joining the Schengen Area-is constantly ridiculed.

It's not common to see a Romanian film that is so critical of the present, as most tend to condemn the past under Ceausescu and embrace capitalism without much questioning. Radu Jude shows that those days are likely over, as things haven't improved much for Romanians. Quite the opposite. Nature is being destroyed for private companies, cities are drowning in traffic, intellectuals are leaving the country, and poverty is everywhere.

This dark comedy is, for me, a highlight of the year. It makes you think, but most of all, it makes you laugh out loud.

Wow. I just finished watching this film and could not get enough. It is a slow burn to start off but as I watched I found myself getting pulled in. This is the story of an overworked woman, who travels from place to place capturing videos of the survivors of nearby, workplace accidents. The most compelling story awards the family a cash prize and commercial spot about workplace safety. In the end, the participants and the rigors of the process are skewered answering questions about capitalism, voyuerism, status, and the results of hardwork. The main character is an endurance champion. The writer and director brought to my mind Proust, capturing the day to day human condition in such a realistic way. I did not want this movie to end. Hopefully there's a 5 hour directors cut out there.