Le matos et la thune

This film is a very good example that the idea, even though is not the only important thing for a movie, is the key point. With a very limited budget, a single basic camera with sound recorded live and a few characters played by very natural acting, young performers. It was like they never knew that they are filmed. Anyway this is a must see movie especially for Romanian speaking viewers. So, take some sun-flowers seeds - not popcorn - and enjoy.

In post-communist Romania young dropout-student Ovidiu's family is struggling to make ends meet by operating a small grocery store right out of their derelict tower block apartment. All he can hope for in this rather dismal small town is to buy someday a small kiosk for himself. The opportunity to considerably further his plan seems to arise when Ivanov, the local shady businessman, offers to pay a fabulous sum to get a parcel delivered to Bucharest, the Romanian Capital.

This attempt at a Romanian road movie goes to great lengths to depict the narrow world of its characters. Every detail of their departure, conversations etc. is painstakingly rendered, causing the film to lose momentum at times. However, the details of how they talk and interact with each other quite realistically reflect their attitude in life, their hopes or lack thereof, and their feelings towards each other. This has been a rare quality in Romanian films so far, where usually you have an improbable story and/or unnaturally behaving characters (few exceptions notwithstanding). I won't bother with the poor production (bad sync, faded colours, overpowering ambient noise) because that's simply not the point with this film. Among the undeniable qualities of Cristi Puiu's debut are the naturalistic depiction of everyday life and the hopelessness of it, the natural acting and language of the characters (which also makes any attempt at a faithful translation quite futile). Despite the lagging story the film accurately captures the everyday struggle and trouble of life in post-communist Eastern Europe. Definitely worth watching if you can adjust to the slow pace.

You must see this simple very good movie. It's like acting is from real life

I seen on top 250 a lot of movies which are considered masterpieces, but they are just very good, if not stupid. This movie is very simple, but an incredible suspense-film, with perfect acting. The sound is bad because of very low budget, and also because the sound is produced at the same time with the image. In fact, the movie follow the set of rules confirmed by DOGMA 95. Often, people like to consider that great movies are complex, complicated, hard to understand, etc. I think this is a mistake. Marfa si banii is a great movie, and let's not exagerate with the subevaluation! 10/10

Rarely did I feel such a deep and vivid satisfaction, while watching a movie... I could simply not take my eyes off the computer display, permanently letting go spontaneous remarks like: "Wow!", "O.M.F.G., how GOOD it can be!", "Dammit, but it's GREAT!", "Now, this is what I call a movie!", "Cristi, you sonovagun, you really DID IT!"

The script is simple but not simplistic, classic and revolutionary at the same time. Following the seemingly linear main plot, the authors subtly insert elements from a parallel story, never disclosed (the mysterious thugs who chase the protagonists - in a very "Duel"-like formula) and explosively blown in the corpses-on-the-field scene. All the elements of this structure charge the movie with so much tension, that the ending becomes barely bearable. In truth, it's one of the best built movie endings I saw in Romanian cinema. Just the thought of what might happen tomorrow gives you the creeps!

The direction is masterful and deconstructivist. Cristi's long and mobile shots, apparently messy, in truth perfectly figured, contribute to the inexorable build-up. The actors are snappy, precise - and so natural, that the stream of profanities they utter becomes literally charming. All in all, it's a certain recipe for quality: what one can do with a simple script and a few bucks, if one really has TALENT.

One should also add that this movie opened the so-called "minimalist trend" in Romanian cinema - the trademark of the New Generation. As some opinions were stating, one should mark it in our culture's history by the formula B.C.P. / A.C.P.: "Before Cristi Puiu" / "After..." - or "Annum..."! ;)