Tales From The Golden Age

Two words to strike terror into the heart of the average movie fan: portmanteau film. Two words to reignite some hope: Cristian Mungiu.

Tales From The Golden Age began life as a solo project for the Palme d’Or winner in which he planned to write and direct a fictional feature base on real-life urban legends from Romania’s communist era under the rule of Nicolae Ceauşescu. Instead, in a move that the collectivist system would have applauded, he invited four of Romania’s most promising young filmmakers to join him.

The result is five vignettes which, collectively, paint a picture of Romania that is at once bleak but strangely nostalgic. What shines through is the proud spirit of the Romanian people, who found ways to endure in a system that veered unpredictably from the comically ineffective to the starkly insidious.

Matt Bochenski

Anticipation:

A portmanteau movie! Oh: with Cristian Mungiu.

Enjoyment:

Sly, wry, funny and illuminating.

In Retrospect:

Communism is always good for a few chuckles.