in your seat. It consist almost completely out of static shots, which later is played with and probably wouldn't have worked so well if not almost the entire film was made up out of these still shots. Having written the story himself, after experiencing a somewhat similar television broadcast which was shown on TV, director Corneliu Porumboiu delivers a fine piece of cinema. Showing the lives of three characters in today's Romania and the way Ceauşescu has effected all of them, Porumboiu presents a beautiful and very charming portrait of a country still trying to recover from its past. It's especially the film's simplicity what makes A Fost Sau N-A Fost? stand out. Using almost only static shots is quite a risk in today's cinema, which makes use of many different shot angles and lots of close-ups. The decision to do this, however, makes that the film is different and gives it this extra charm. It just does what it wants, paying no attention to the conventions. It works out more than well. A Fost Sau N-A Fost? is a wonderful film with very funny dialogue and well written characters. It is very political because of its topic and the placement of the film and time. It really shows something of importance and is part of this bigger cycle that is still going on and which Romania is slowly climbing out of. A Fost Sau N-A Fost? is one of the new films which show life after the downfall of Ceauşescu, which is a theme than can be found in a lot of Romania's cinema right now. It's a great debut which shows the talents of one of Romania's up and coming filmmakers.What is it about?
Virgil Jderescu, an owner of a television station, decides to make a television programme just before Christmas about the revolution that took place the day that former dictator Nicolae Andruţă Ceauşescu fled the country. In order to discuss whether also a revolution took place in Jderescu's small village or not, he invites two people in his programme, one being a school teacher and the other an elderly man with lots of life experience. Before they come
together in Jderescu's television show Manescu, the teacher, is struggling paying his debts and the elderly guy, Piscoci, is getting ready to play Santa Claus. Meanwhile Jderescu is sleeping with the female newspresenter his own wife detests. When they eventually are sitting in the studio being shown on televisions across the town, they start to share their memories about what exactly happened the day of the revolution and a discussion errupts which provides for many comedic events.Final Verdict: *****
A Fost Sau N-A Fost? is a must-see film, which everyone will enjoy. It's very different from most films you will find in theatres today, being a real breath of fresh air, showing none of the fast cutting that sometimes can become quite tiring. Because of the way the film is shot, at first it's a bit hard to distinguish the three different characters. It's hard without getting any real close-ups in the beginning to separate one from the other. Luckily this doesn't take very long and soon you find your way and are able to enjoy the film to the fullest. I didn't expect to see a comedy, but that is actually what I got. Although, calling it a comedy seems sort of out of place, because it wouldn't be fair to place it in the same line of the 'typical' comedies as we have come to know them. A Fost Sau N-A Fost? has this intellectual feel to it, being funny without using gags. The dialogue is phenomenal and the actors just run away with it playing their roles to full extent and really getting the most out of their characters. Besides the comedic aspect,
it also is very rooted in history, really trying to present a certain view of Romania and its social climate. The film makes you think during the little jokes and becomes therefore a very nice mix, where you find yourself laughing, but also taking into account the way life must be like for these people. Mircea Andreescu who plays the old Emanoil Piscoci is a real treat to watch. He's extremely charming and funny making complaints and struggling with the youth living round his apartment who keep torturing him with fireworks and which he refers to as being hooligans. In a beautiful long take, which is also one of the few shots which has the camera moving, the camera follows the car from behind in which two of the main characters are sitting. It's a beautiful shot which shows the bleak streets and make you realize how old the city looks. The difference with the Europe of the West are very big and quite harsh. Appartment buildings with the paint coming off and those old model type of cars, which in most of Europe's traffic are a rarity. Another pleasure of the film is that it brings back little details that were pointed out at the beginning of the film. These don't really make a real impact, but are just part of a character's personality, it's something they're interested in which comes to show during a later event. It's nice when a film brings up these minor details again somewhere later in the film, giving this feeling that the story is actually moving forwards and feels rounded, complete. A Fost Sau N-A Fost? is a real pleasure and will make for a beautiful cinema experience. It's one of those little films that make you feel you have just witnessed something very special.
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