A small Transylvanian village riven by racism is the setting of this latest slow-burning drama from the Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu ('4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days').
If “R.M.N.” had been released in American theaters at the end of last year, it would have made for a sensational piece of seasonal counterprogramming. A riveting downer from the gifted Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu, the movie begins a few days before Christmas, when a man named Matthias , taking a break from his job slicing open carcasses in a German slaughterhouse, gets called a “lazy gypsy” and throws an instinctive, ill-advised punch.
“R.M.N.” isn’t a nativity story; it’s a nativism story, a roving panorama of small-town hostility and a microcosm of tribalist enclaves the world over. It’s also a mystery, one that begins and ends in confusion, and something of a romance, thanks to the intriguingly if befuddlingly mismatched Matthias and Csilla. Matthias is a boor and a bully, gruff with his estranged wife, Ana , and eager to mold the sensitive young Rudi into a model of chest-beating manhood.
For those whose ears are untrained in the differences in language, this polyglot approach can be initially overwhelming, even confusing. At the same time, Mungiu is a master of the long, talky slow burn, and if “R.M.N.” often feels less focused and more sprawling than some of his earlier movies , that’s a testament to its expansiveness and ambition.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Artifice Girl Review: Ritch's Sci-Fi Drama Is Intense, Nuanced & ThoughtfulTheArtificeGirl Review: Franklin Ritch's Sci-Fi Drama Is Intense, Nuanced & Thoughtful
Read more »
Beau Is Afraid Review: Joaquin Phoenix Shines in Ari Aster MovieAs our Beau Is Afraid review explains, no one will be more afraid than the moviegoers squirming in their seats at this mind-blowing movie.
Read more »
What Does Tucker Carlson's Surprise Exit Mean for Fox News?Tucker Carlson and Fox News split up. What led to the divorce, and what does it mean for the future of the network? See perspectives and analysis across the spectrum from michelleinbklyn, thehill, and jimgeraghty:
Read more »
The 2022 HBR PrizeThe HBR Prize, judged by an independent panel of business and academic leaders, commends outstanding articles published each year in Harvard Business Review.
Read more »
A New Study Found a Surprising Link Between This Popular Fried Food and DepressionA review of more than 140,000 individual eating patterns revealed fascinating results.
Read more »