Casatoria

I'm not talking about the actors' talent. I'm referring to the camera operator and the director of photography, who created truly exceptional shots in a film that I consider mediocre.

The film aims to be a parody, blending different eras, but it fails due to its forced language and weak acting. I know Romania and the decline of its educational institutions, and this lack of culture is reflected in the film - through its dialogue, music, and behavior.

Yes, it is a parody, but a poorly executed one, with lines that try to sound sophisticated at times but are rather delivered than truly acted. A film that wants to be a comedy but, in reality, mirrors the cultural decline of the country that produced it.

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.

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 start by saying that I love Mihai Bendeac and I consider him the best humor creator in Romania at the moment. I've seen all his plays directed or just acted and I didn't even know before seeing it that this film is actually a screen adaptation of the play "Krecinski's Wedding".

The film stands out for its costumes and image, one of the best, if not the best, Romanian film of recent years from this point of view.

But I think that MB was wrong considering that theater and film can be so much the same. You can't really make a film with so many absurd and unrealistic characters unless you make it for children. And this is not a movie for children. If during the theater play I laughed out loud at certain lines, well, it was quite quiet in the movie theater. Liviu Pintileasa, although he does his best, does not seem to be necessarily made for the main role in a comedy film, and Vlad Dragulin is used too little.

On top of all this, there are also some songs that don't really belong there. They simply give the impression that the director satisfied his own musical pleasures with them or... that the respective soloists had to be included in the film.

Although I like Mihai Bendeac and admire his work and talent, I was disappointed by this film, barely resisting until the end.

My expectations were probably too high, regarding Bendeac's ability to direct an original film with a very good script.

Mediocre jokes, the script was non-existent, there were elements that had no point (manele, telephones..), the characters were extremely caricatured, sometimes giving the impression that I was watching cartoons.

Even though I know the actors from the theater, and they are very talented, in this film their talent was masked by the interpretation of these crude characters.

Some viewers left the theater in the first 10-15 minutes.