Balaur

This film exceeded my expectations and the group of filmmakers who did this have a lot of potential!

I didn't think it was mediocre at all, the performance of the main actress was excellent, you could feel that constant tension, especially in the scene when she was looking for her son and was teaching him how to cover her lies. She transforms very unexpectedly into a different person she couldn't know she could be.

The ending was somehow surprising and served exactly what it needed. It made me think and it still does. There are lots of interpretations for the final scene and I recommend everybody to see the film and find the suitable meaning for themselves.

The fear of infidelity is the theme of Balaur (2021), based on a real from Piatra Neamt, where a religion teacher, wife of a priest, was involved in a public scandal after a relationship with one of her students. Because Transilvania Film Festival offers this extraordinary opportunity to meet the makers of a film immediately after the screening, Balaur (2021) seemed to me an even more impressive directorial debut listening to the way Octav Chelaru argued his cinematic choices and seeing the unity of his team of actors including Alexandru Papadopol, Sergiu Smerea and Mãlina Manovici, protagonists who, I have no doubt, will receive some awards for this interpretation. Liana Alexandru.

Tonight I saw Octav Chelaru's debut feature film, which is based on (or rather is inspired by) a real love story with a tragic ending, which happened some years ago, between a priest's wife and a high school student. The story ended with the suicide of the young man.

I won't narrate the movie here, just a few highlights.

The film has all the characteristics of the low-budget Romanian film, which relies a lot on the psychological mindset of the characters, in order to impress the audience! With all the good and the bad that derives from here!

The film has a good flow, it is not preaching anything and it's quite honest, not forcing the viewer towards limited interpretations.

I still don't know what to say about how believable the characters are presented. Maybe because of my familiarity with the setting, maybe because of the exceptionality of the story.

Dialogues are, most often, natural; sometimes slightly touched by hysteria, as in all Romanian films. Or maybe it's just my feeling...

All in all, it is not an anti-clerical film at all! On the contrary! Beyond some awkwardness, the church, the priesthood, the priest's family are approached very respectfully!

It's a film about wounded and unfulfilled eros, maybe also about a confused past of a woman, maybe incapable of happiness, maybe forced to live a life that didn't make her happy!

But more than that, I think it's about the devastating effect that migration and the lack of family love has on children and teenagers!

The conclusion drawn by me, let's call it "moral conclusion", is that man without love is nothing and tends towards self-destruction. The lack of love places the soul in an entropic desire, which, at best, destroys destinies, and at worst, puts the equal sign between life and death!

I say it's a movie worth seeing!

A very well written and well made film. I only say well done and not perfect because it felt a bit too long. Maybe an extra dynamism would have made it much more attractive. But besides this, I can say that I really liked it. It managed to capture my attention and kept me in suspense till the end. Congratulations to the whole team!

I want to refer particularly on the actors. The two boys Florin (Voicu Dumitras) and especially Iuliu (Sergiu Smerea) are very good. They succeed in roles in which they are natural, deeply assumed, believable. They leave the impression in everything they do that there's a connection between them and the director, with the help of which he's been able to convey to them what he wants from them, and they feel comfortable with the lessons learned, so to speak. Good for them!

I don't want to end without mentioning the main actress: Mãlina Manovici, who practically carries all the burden of this film, plays an extraordinary role here that can be a good example for any acting student. And in her case, as with the boys, there is a good collaboration with the director, with whom she managed to create memorable moments. I just want to mention the scene in the principal's office which I really liked and which shows that you can write good dialogues that give the actors the opportunity to act something worth watching. Bravo, Gabriel Spahiu, Richard Bovnoczki and Mãlina Manovici!

Also, wonderful frame with the two doors and the crucifix between them. Bravo! I wonder if those two doors really exist or were specially made. Anyway, awesome.

I'll say now what I didn't like: I don't like the title and I don't think it helps the movie, on the contrary. It probably means something. I didn't understand what, but... well, that's the filmmakers' option. A lot of scenes that could be missing and so maybe it would have been a little more dynamic.

I can't say anything about the cinematography, editing, production design, nothing caught my eye because I was stolen by the story, so everything is fine.

What a pity that there are so few good films. This one is a drop in the ocean of bad Romanian films produced in recent years. Unfortunately, those movies have ruined the mood for cinema for the majority of Romanian viewers.

Congratulations, everyone!

A film that makes you think of French cinema. Alexandru Papadopol was well chosen for the role of the priest. His physique and the level of his performance help the character a lot. I never liked this actor and I don't like priests in general, so for me this role is a very pleasant and unexpected surprise. Alexandru Papadopol plays his part well until the end, being very credible. Mãlina Manovici is a sensual, expressive actress who conveys a lot, knowing how to hide a girl full of carnal desires under an angelic face. There would be a lot to say about the subject matter of the film, but that's another topic. In conclusion, a well-made film, along with Neidentificat (2020).