Capra cu trei iezi

Capra cu trei iezi is a romanian horror period piece featuring Maia Morgenstern and directed by Victor Canache.

This is an adaptation of the iconic fairytale from Romania 1875 by Ion Creanga. But unlike other fairytale adaptations, it's a much darker and adult take on the story.

As a drama, this movie is great. The actors bring this characthers to life in an impressive way. The movie is pretty short, each scene being relevant to the plot and I wasn't bored (almost) at all. The direction is immaculate: the editing and cinematography do a spectacular job of showing this quiet, isolated setting with a dark and misterious tone. The characthers, while barely of them likeable, have nice interactions that keep you engaged to see what will happen next

But enough with the hyperbolized praises, let's talk about the worst part of the movie: the horror element. As a horror movie, this is honestly the worst the genre has to offer. Overall tense and scary scenes are ruined by corny, out of touch editing that makes the movie feel like a parody. Characthers like Nanasu feel like carichatures, because the movie wants to take ths intimidating villain and make him some blood thristy maniac that comes off more like some Batman 1965 villain, rather than an unstoppable force. Also the characters, just like I've said, are unlikeable. And not just the villain: all of them. In this movie, unless you're a mean, grumpy person or downright a piece of trash, you have little to no power in this world. The mother is always angry and mean to her kids, sometimes even to the little kid who is presented as a pure heroic underdog. And I know that her older kids are mean pieces of rubbish too, but when they're eventually killed, it doesn't really feel like they're the victims 'cause 1. They're unlikeable, non-relatable brats and 2. They pretty much guilty of their deaths. And of course I'm sorry, but if the movie put them in a somewhat more positive spot, their deaths would've felt much sadder, since the audience had an emotional connection with them.

So yeah, it's flawed, but I don't think it's bad like others say.

Movie trigger warnings: bullying, sexism, (mild) domestic abuse, sexual assault.

Number of jumpscares: 0.5 (literally barely a jumpscare once)

Review: Honestly one of the best pieces of Romanian cinema I've seen until now, and just a really good horror/thriller movie. It captures really beautifully what it meant to live in the 19th century rural Romania, along with the accurate traditional house, cutlery and clothes.

The two main actors are absolute legends, and the kids do an amazing job.

The filming is pretty well done, with very desaturated colors pushing the difficult lifestyle of the poor family.

Editing is decent, a few fast cuts here and there, but nothing to be offended by.

Sound design is pretty good, the soundtrack being played on traditional instruments, only note would be that at times you can't hear the dialogue due to the music being quite loud.

All in all, a pretty dope watch, biases aside, a solid 8/10.

Knowing the story that the movie is based on and knowing the story behind the movie, makes me appreciate this production even more.

The production quality based on the budget is amazing, they really managed to keep us right on the edge with the script and offer us visual comfort through the landscapes and representation of the Romanian countryside household.

It really was refreshing to watch a quality Romanian movie which brought back to the public eye a well known folk story with a powerful message.

And last but not least, the iconic actors were a perfect match for their roles. I would definitely not want to meet with the "wolf" by accident on the streets.

It's a 10 for me!

A very good film with few actors.

Very well played, the script is simple and effective.

Maybe for some who watch the movie it seems too harsh.

Ion Creanga's story is really hard, many have probably overlooked it.

I read again the story, the text in the movie is almost identical to the one in the story.

Maybe some people want spectacular effects, this movie is not for them.

I hope more films like this are made, it is needed.

The footage is very good, of high quality, despite the low budget of the film.

It is only a beginning for such films, it has been shown that it is also possible.

I watched the director's interview, it has potential.

Of course, there will also be active hatters, who probably criticize any film, nothing satisfies them.

Saw this movie at the cinema last night with my wife and we wore absolutely mesmerized by the amazing nature shots, the overall mood of this movie. I think this is more than just a horror story, it's a slice of the Romanian life in the mountains in the middle of nature.

I'd categorize this movie in the Folk Horror genre and it's a fresh approach for the romanian cinematography.

As a foreigner you will feel even more intrigued not knowing the centuries old folk story that we wore told as kids from generation to generation.

Enjoy this gem ! And remember: never open the door to a stranger, you'll never know what can happen.