Doua lozuri

If you're not Romanian and have seen any film from there at all, it's most likely a festival prize winner by a neo-realist director like Mungiu or Netzer. If you meet a Romanian and ask them what they thought about those, you will quite likely have heard that these films are not really that great, because they do not represent how people live.

There is a scene just like that in this short and mildly black comedy, in which Dragos Bucur explains this to a hitch hiker, giving the plot of "Stuff and Dough" as an example, and how boring it was. The very Romanian irony is that Dragos Bucur was the star of "Stuff and Dough", it was his breakout film, so it's just plain hilarious to hear him trash-talk about it.

There are lots of similar jokes in this little gem produced at a budget of just about €5000. If you're Romanian, you'll constantly snicker because you'll invariably know characters who act like those in the movie. If you're a Westerner, you get a chance to see what we are really like, even if you won't get much of the humor.

This is the perfect film to watch for Eastern - Western couples if you've always found yourself unable to explain just what the difference between us is. It's light, it's fun and unlike most films these days not too long.

And although it says so in the content description, this is not based on some British comedy, but (loosely) on a 19th century play.

Somebody keeps giving 1 to this movie. Don't mind, it's just a stupid game. The movie is a masterpiece in it's way. Every word, every look, every gesture has it's effect and a lot of humor. When you less expect a boost of laugh strikes the assistance and yourself.

Briefly, three good stupid guys - like many - win the jackpot. But where is the ticket? Well, it has been stolen. These guys really need the money! You feel sorry for them and you have no choice but to accompany them in a journey to find the robbers and the ticket. Every step, every mile and every encounter is a reason of laugh. At the end of the day you may conclude that money is not exactly what they need - they are better than this.

Why „Două lozuri" (Two Tickets)? You'll have to see the movie to find out the second one.

I really had a lot of fun watching it in the cinema, mostly because it is a rare occasion to find good quality humor in Romanian movies lately (and in American movies either). It takes a story from Caragiale but it brings it in the modernity, reflecting a part of the society, with hopes, aspirations, problems and hilarious ways of solving these problems. Maybe not the best movie for foreigners who will probably miss most of the jokes and the humorous situations, but a good movie to watch on a Saturday evening with friends. Actors are funny, the story is relaxed, the director brought a bit of a nostalgic vibe, - thank God, not too much nostalgia after the communist times. I appreciate the good vibe and the warm tone of the story from Doua lozuri, compared to the offensive, vulgar, even raw movies that seem to haunt the modern Romanian cinema.

It's a brilliant movie! Funny, smart, really good and funny again. The best comedy I've seen in years. From the script to acting, bright and colorful image, sound quality, editing, everything has a quality it acquires international value. The disadvantage of it being so Romanian may diminish a lot of its humor for foreign viewers, but there is something universal about humor and this movie has that. Cause the policeman jokes are universal and every country has it's own conspiracy believers. It's not a dark/ gloomy/ tragic comedy as Filantropica, but is a sweet satire of the contemporary Romanian rural society. Not sure if it's Paul Negoescu manifesto, but this movie is setting up a new standard in Romanian cinema achievement. Just go and see it.

"Comedy" is not a genre American arthouse audiences traditionally associate with Romanian cinema. But this out of left field sleeper is very much a comedy--and a perfectly scaled, beautifully executed and acted one. I was reminded of the early films of Jim Jarmusch (particularly "Stranger Than Paradise" and "Down by Law").

There was also a soupçon of Milos Forman's Czech New Wave movies like "The Fireman's Ball." I went into this expecting, well, not much of anything (I'd never heard of the director before, and knew that it had a 2016 copyright date which didn't inspire much confidence), and was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

Somebody should buy the remake rights. I could definitely picture an American version set in, say, Atlanta with three African-American leads as the lugheads who lose a winning lottery ticket.