Comoara

"A man makes his own problems; they don't descend from heaven." Cornel (Corneliu Cozmei)

The two heroes of the strange but lovable Romanian comedy, The Treasure, do create their problems, mainly digging for treasure in a backyard with the help of Cornel and his metal detector. Although the two hapless diggers are in serious need of cash flow, there is something mock heroic in their haphazard plans that are bound to go wrong from the get go. Not even to say the possibility of Cornel blackmailing them for breaking Romanian found-treasure laws.

Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale tells of the dire consequences when men try to find easy gold, and Treasure of Sierra Madre has a similarly fateful trajectory. Beckett's Waiting for Godot also comes to mind as the search has a simplicity, frustration, and sure-to fail feel to it. However, The Treasure has a lighter tone, not hilarious by any means, but aiming to take this goofy quest and make it a modern morality tale with Keystone-Cops flavor.

The "takes" are long and slow with an emphasis on establishing, diminishing, and revealing character through conversation in an everyday mode that veritably shouts out the inevitable upending. The pace is leisurely if not downright slow—you know you're almost in real time as you watch them slowly dig for the treasure. The occasional long shots seem to emphasize the long-shot stupidity of the enterprise.

It's the ending that will wake you from your torpor to wide-eyed wonder. Enough said.

'The Treasure' is a bit of an odd duck. The film is about a man that is approached by his neighbor to help him dig up some theoretical treasure in his town yard. But things aren't so simple. Both of these men are rather poor and can barely afford to pay for a metal detector. This is one of those films that is a very unique experience. While it's certainly something that I haven't seen before, it's unfortunately one that I don't think I will ever revisit. The main reason for this is because the films plot is extraordinarily thin. The brief plot summary I mentioned at the beginning is really the only thing that this is about. They want to find treasure than they go digging.

Oddly enough this lack of substance seemed almost intentional. The whole point of the movie was to be as natural as possible. I will say that the characters and performances do dish out some very dry humor this way though. In fact the humor is so dry it can be easily missed. Especially when there isn't all that much of it.

Although my main gripe with this film is in it's story, it can still be oddly enchanting. I think this has a direct correlation with humans love of money. Or, I mean, treasure. I think anyone can relate to the desire to find loot. So when we see a guy rooming around with a metal detector for over fifteen minutes of screen time it's not as bland as it could have been. ​ But, it's still pretty bland. I mean there's only so much of this nothing that one can reasonably take. I enjoy watching movies that replicate life itself but this one isn't that kind of movie. It's so paper thin, in fact, that watching it felt more like reading an essay. Character 1 goes into house while character 2 sits with character 3. Character 2 and 3 get into argument. Character 1 intervenes. And so on.

While I obviously understand the dryness that the movie is going for, it's just oh so dry. Again, there is literally fifteen minutes of this film that involves these three characters pacing around a yard. Doing nothing but metal detecting. After that we get about twenty more minutes of nothing but digging.

A few of the people argue between this but other than that, there is nothing to this. The characters are half decent and can provide some stimulation yet, they aren't good enough to make you really think about anything. The only really great part of this movie is in the visuals. It may not have many dynamic shots but they are all well composed and utilize long takes to highlight the simple feel of the film.

I certainly appreciate the purpose behind many of the decisions made, I just can't get past this movies lack of substance. It's so bland and dry that even when it's trying to simulate life itself, it's hard to relate too. I found myself more interested in the palms of hands than what I was seeing on screen. Great visuals and decent direction can only go so far, so by the thirty minute mark I was totally checked out.

Just saw this on HBO. Not feeling like either wanting my money back or wanting my time back. The movie was OK. OK in the exact sense depicted in the plot. Nothing less, but nothing more.

I am trying to watch all Romanian movies, and the good news is the level of acting is improving dramatically (pseudo-pun intended) and this movie excels in that area.

All the cast is performing well, the lines are good and appropriate for the moment, I would have preferred to not be able to guess each and every line that was about to be said, but that means that it was all natural and just right. Not often you see a movie were the next action and the next line simply makes sense. Nothing unexpected, but it has a magic of its own like that. In most movies you anticipate what you would have said (the logical line) or what you would have done in a certain context, and it never happens like that, and you think "man, this was stupid". Not in this movie. Here everything makes sense and is exactly as expected.

Why a 6 then? For the exact reason above. No surprises. And because it's classified as comedy, and I don't even recall the slightest smile on my face for the whole duration of the film. The only surprise in the movie was there was no surprise whatsoever. The ending has a small twist, but far-far from what could've compensated for the rest.

A movie that's worth seeing, but only for the experience, not for its intrinsic value.

Greetings again from the darkness. Cinematic comedies always face a challenge of the wide variances found in the senses of humor of movie goers. Taking a wry comedy approach narrows the market a bit more, and finally, tying in cultural and historical aspects specific to Romania risks leaving an audience of only the staunchest film festival attendees. Writer/director Corneliu Porumboui (12:08 East of Bucharest) sticks to his creative vision, never once catering to the masses.

Costi (Toma Cuzin) is reading "Robin Hood" to his young son when a knock on the door leads to a conversation with his neighbor Adrian (Adrian Purcanescu). In most movies, theirs would be described as an awkward conversation, but in this world, awkward is normal, so the description doesn't really fit. However, the Robin Hood story acts a structure to the film, and especially to the actions and thought process of Costi, who fancies himself as a real life Robin Hood, even if it's possibly only to impress his bullied-at-school son.

Adrian's pitch to Costi is meant to raise the 800 Euros necessary to hire a professional metal detector in hopes of finding the treasure buried by Adrian's great-grandfather during WWII. The stage is set for what looks to be the proverbial wild goose chase of an urban legend, but this partnership results in the introduction of Corneliu Cozmei, a real life metal detector professional. The conversation between these three during the dig is at times harsh and lacking any pleasantries … sometimes laden with accusations … and often tying in Romanian history from revolutions to wars and Communist control. It's here you're your particular sense of humor will either be rewarded or not. Viewers are treated to the somehow entertaining extended sequence of 3 men digging a hole whilst lighted by car headlights and accompanied by the beeping of the (flawed?) metal detector.

The wry, deadpan comedy is often as uncomfortable as it is funny, and much of the negativity is directed at the bureaucracy of modern day Romania (and human nature in general), including the ridiculous "cultural heritage" fees of any found treasure. This leads to an offbeat scene at the local police station – again, either wry or boring, depending on you. If the viewers have trouble connecting with the characters or the dialogue, perhaps the closing song "Life is Life" (in a guttural performance from Lailbach) will prove to be the best explanation of what was just seen. Most of us can't name another Romanian comedy … and depending on taste, some will question whether this one qualifies, while others will be googling for more.

Corneliu Porumboiu's fifth feature could well be his worst too. He just follows the usual modern arthouse genre and show a story that is for mainstream audience. The script and making are way too shallow.