tionfiul-1

To say the least, a necessary picture. Furthermore, a very subtle point of view, and an interesting, original approach to such an equally difficult and terrifying subject. Well-paced, intelligent, and immensely telling on the subject of the delicate balance between the forces at play in the historical moment in point. A wealth of information delivered subtly gives the film body and weight. Great performances from most artists with a - by now - expected yet amazing power of transformation from Claudiu Bleont, this very versatile actor. Good debut for Mr. Piersic Jr in a star role, and a nice guest appearance from Mr. Iures. Needless to say I am sad that the film's reception so far in its native country looks cooler than should be. I hope it will win in the international festivals circuit the respect and exposure it deserves.

It's sad. So much publicity. Such glorious reviews. And for what? I wish I could coat my downright disgust for this movie in something less obviously antagonistic but there's not much I can do for such a predicable script, overblown special effects-laden, obviously computerized silliness. There was nothing that made me care a second for the underwritten characters, nothing that made me give a damn about the outcome of the battle. The cold philosophy of the Spartans - much remains to be said about it - was shadowed by the obvious glory the makers wanted to bestow upon them. I can't believe Hollywood can still come out with such nonsense in this day and age and even get 50% of audience approval (as seen at least on the IMDb board). I hope this is not the real situation, I hope the reaction to this movie doesn't characterize the bulk of IMDb voters whom I always thought more astute and more clearer-sighted that that.

Not too strong on plot, "How I spent the end of the world" is strong on mood and feeling, and it very well compensates. I usually don't go crazy about "mood pieces" but this is definitely more. I caught the film at the up and coming Transylvania Film Festival (Tiff for short) where the film had its national premiere after a decent reception at Cannes only a few weeks earlier. The film is a MUST for any Romanian who has lived through the Ceausescu years as the filmmakers went through great pains to accurately depict the mood of those days from general landscape to the toy trucks, school uniforms and furniture all Romanians possessed and shared during an era of uniform mass-production. The film stands out as the harbinger of something historians will hopefully refer to as "the Romanian New Wave." With films like this, and "Marilena from P7" as well as Porumboiu's "Has it Been, Has it not Been" (another personal take on the shattering Revolution of 1989), Romanian cinema is finally entering the world circuit, and will hopefully stay there for a while.