Waiting for August

This is a wonderful documentary about a contemporary issue in Romania: parents leaving their children to work abroad for a better pay.

It is a sacrifice, because with financial gain they lose the necessary close parent-child connection.

In this case, we follow six children, of which three not even teens yet, through a 8-9 month period, living by themselves and waiting for August, when they will see their mother again.

It would be easy to judge the mother of negligence, (no father is in the picture by the way) but this is a common social issue because of a born-again but crumbling democratic country.

The documentary is very well shot, accurately representing Romanian society and a lower middle-class family. The editing is very cinematic and the children act so natural as if there was no camera in their confined rooms.

And there's a natural chemistry between the siblings, three teenagers and three younger children. It's a mixing pot of honest emotions: joy, anger, disappointment, bonding and love.

I applaud the director for this effort, it is a very touching documentary. It's simple, but goes straight to the heart.