★ 8 / 10
A brave take
erichreinholtz
Throughout the entire film, you can clearly tell that the script was adapted from a theater play. The main focus is on character-to-character interaction. In a…
Throughout the entire film, you can clearly tell that the script was adapted from a theater play. The main focus is on character-to-character interaction.
In a world (country) full of movies made solely for cheap laughs (some good laughs ngl), this film has a unique and brave take, attempting to exert different feelings than the Romanian audience is familiar with.
The film has a bittersweet vibe, showcasing very real-life, relatable scenarios. Many people from different backgrounds may identify themselves or, at the very least, empathize with certain characters.
It is true that the film could have been executed better, however I still gave an 8/10 for braveness and the unique take it provides.
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★ 8 / 10
Bitter-Sweet Slice of Life
TheMustardNerd
While I'm all for reading diverse reviews of movies, this time it feels like me and eerybody else have watched different movies. Or maybe ours perspectives are…
While I'm all for reading diverse reviews of movies, this time it feels like me and eerybody else have watched different movies. Or maybe ours perspectives are just that different.
So in this review I would like to give a different perspective of this movie
First of all, the characters are complex and memorable. The two protagonists are Lica (Alexandru Ion) and Liviu (Rolando Matsangos). The two characters are polar opposites and they cover two social archetypes: Lica= The loud and arrogant yet sensitive worker and Liviu= the quiet, shy and polite worker.
Now let's dive into Lica
What makes him such an interesting character that has two sides:
1. One is bold, vulgar, loud and arrogant. He claims that he has a strong sense of morality, and that he'll follow them in any situation. He's also very transparent about his beliefs, his plans, and opinions. When he encounters a person who doesn't respect him he'll get aggresive. He's not afraid to be loud and vulgar, because he thinks that he's high in the social hierarchy of the working class. Nothing new, right? But there's more;
2. His other side is pretty soft actually. He has a very fragile ego, and he'll panic whenever put in front of a threat. It's not that hard of a task to humiliate him. He's insecure, ready to humiliate somebody. And with each interation, we see hw he strugles to make himself feel good, and not accept that his childish behaivour has consequences. We also see a more relatable side of him, one that temporarily tries to makes things better.
But what about Liviu?
He's pretty much the opposite of Lica:
From meeting him, we learn that he's a grounded, quiet, introverted worker that tries his best to make his life better. He's friendly and quiet inoffensive, and rejects any negative factors, both external and internal. But as the story goes forward, we see his tougher side. Unlike Lica, he is mature and has a strong set of morals. He tries to not associate himself with pleasures and be focused on doing his best work. He also strugles to keep himself together and not pop, constatly reggresing his negative emotions.. But from what? Basically, we later learn that he has a pretty depressing life. His wife, Veronica (Victoria Raileanu) lost interest in him, claiming that their romantic and sexual life is gone. She is very vocal about her desire to escape poverty and monotony. Liviu tries to hold himself together, to run from his condemnation, and to pretend that everything is fine. One scene that I want to talk about right here, right now is the final argument between Veronica and Liviu. It's an intense disagreement. Veronica talks about how she would rather be a whore in a foreign country than stay with him. And he loses it, and becomes aggresive and abusive.... Lica, being a witness to this, tries to mollify the interaction, but it's all in vain......
Second of all, let's talk about the script. The script has a shocking sense of realism. The cursing honestly, while innapropiate, gives the movie a raw view on reality. But to be fair, I understand why for some was too much. The movie was trying to present flawed, almost pathetic characters, that only ones like them would talk like that. I've heard that this movie has no story: I disagree. Instead of the characters going on a specific mission, it's a journey of viewer witnessing the characters having to deal with the reality that they refused to explore. The Starting Point would be the characters' introduction, with their masks and monotonous lifes. And the end of the journey would be the characters, being ht by reality, but they don't manage to fix their lifes, even with this lesson. Throught this entire movie, the characters have been condamned to living a hard life, and each and one of them processed this in different ways. This is obviously trying to symbolise the condemnation of poverty and how life as a taxi driver can feel like a maze with no end, no escape, no light at the end of the tunnel. So if we look from this perspective, it's not a journey of the characters, but a journey of the spectator taking a look at characters that embody average people with, unfortunately for a majority of people, average problems. It's up to the audience to deduce the message. And this is shown is the movie in a surprisingly elaborate way. For example, each client of Lica is also a way for the movie to show his personality, and how he deals with poverty. His story is more of a reality check, where his pride is smashed. His first client is a pretty soft and quiet person, easy for him to make himself look mature and successful. The next scenes feature him humilating a young woman, that is later revealed to a familiar face with a lot of authority (Maria Popistasu). She shows him a different perspective on life, one where he is the fool, where he is not mature and not successful. And just like we've said, him actually being a sensitive person, a coward, he doesn't fight back , his courage faded away and he become submissive and humiliated. From now on, he tries to mock his clients, trying to make them look foolish and to make himself look good. Of course, he is hit by reality again, the feeling being temporary.
The directing is good, the actors are good, and overall I think this movie has a valuable message, presented in a competent, admirable way.
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7.0/10
3.9K
