The Treasure

Viewed January 7, 2017. Porumboiu has his scenes play out in ascetic long takes whose rigid style belie the sheer goofiness of his characters and their actions. If you're not paying attention, it looks and feels like just another austere European drama. The pacing is also key - the agonizing slowness of the search for treasure only emphasizes the growing tension and frustration which is, in turn, pretty hilarious.

Costi turns the Robin Hood story he reads to his son into reality as he redestributes the treasure to the children in the park. The rhytm and the sense of humor are all working great in this meticulously done piece, but my problem is what significance does all that stuff have in the level of meaning? Does it say that "communism inhibited the economic growth in Romanina" or "the communist history was is our treasure" or "one should help his neighbour"? Well done but extremely personal.

Octubre? 2016 - Si pretén ser comèdia no he sabut trobar res humorístic. Els personatges em semblaven completament mediocres i mesquins. Res a subratllar més que l'avorriment (molt bé si això és el que pretenia expressar).

Slow, slow and slow again. Comedy? Not at all. Dull? For sure. It could be an "acceptable" 15min short film but for a 90min film it's just a waste of film. Thank god the cameras are digital!

This movie is slightly more interesting than watching paint dry. The premise is enough to keep you watching, and as someone else wrote about it, the only surprise is that there is no surprise. Watch it only if you are interested in a random anthropological snapshot of Romanian society. There is some interesting friction between two of the characters. Not comedic at all. The nonprofessional actors did well though.

Clever film, with plenty of small laughs throughout that build toward a pivotal scene. In moving toward such a scene, the film is reminiscent of Porumboiu's earlier Police, Adjective. With political subtext laced throughout, the film aims for something more than simple comedy. That its form matches those modest aims makes it successful.

My problem with modern comedy is that it's so toned down. I prefer my funny business broad and clear which is why I usually fall for the comedies that get have a tendency to be slaughtered. Here we have a extra dry one. A treasure hunt poking fun at rather ordinary official situation. It's so dry they actually eliminates anything funny. I love deadpan comedy, but it doesn't work when it's this faceless and don't add a sparkle in the eye to it all. Apart from the ending, nothing was of any value.