Best New Releases

Dec 5-10, 2019 @ Jacob Burns Film Center

Corneliu Porumboiu. 2019, Romania/France/Germany, 97 min

The only Romanian film selected for the New York Film Festival this year finds director Corneliu Porumboiu (12:08 East of Bucharest; Police, Adjective) at his most whimsical yet. The Whistlers plays like a flashy neo-noir shot in bright colors, complete with twists and turns, double-crosses, lots of smoke and cinephilia, a femme fatale called Gilda, a mattress full of money, and… an extra twist. It’s about a corrupt cop who travels to the Canary Island of La Gomera where he must learn an indigenous whistle language to help him communicate with the mobs while eluding police surveillance. This enjoyable caper was selected as Romania’s official Oscar entry. A Magnolia Pictures Release.

OPENING NIGHT | Actress Rodica Lazăr in person

Jacob Burns Film Center

Dec 05, 2019
7:15 pm

Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time

Stere Gulea. 2018, Romania, 109 min

Stere Gulea follows up his 1987 The Moromete Family—about a peasant family whose highest value was to own land and work it—with this unexpected sensation. Gorgeously shot in evocative black and white, the film focuses on aspiring writer Niculae, the youngest son of the patriarch and the only member of the family to have gone to school. The film relates the family’s next chapter, with a particular emphasis on the way the village’s world order changed with the arrival of communism after World War II. Packed with top Romanian actors, this is a history lesson at its most entertaining and illuminating. New York Premiere

Jacob Burns Film Center

Dec 06, 2019
7:30 pm

Marona's Fantastic Tale

Anca Damian. 2019, Romania/France/Belgium, 92 min

Outstanding in its inventive use of various animation techniques, Marona tells the emotional story of the last puppy in a litter of nine—hence the first name she’s given, Nine—and her hopeful devotion to her various owners, not all of whom are devoted to her. Director Anca Damian takes a risk by beginning this vivid tale at the end of the dog’s life, after she’s been hit by a car, but the payoff is this bittersweet story of a pooch who advises dogs to “lick your human’s face every day as if it’s the last.” By the time she ends up with a stable home and the name of Marona, she knows the happiness of reliable shelter, a loving master, and a good bone. A GKIDS Release. New York Premiere

Jacob Burns Film Center

Dec 7, 2019
12:00 pm

Radu Dragomir. 2019, Romania, 76 min

Mo (short for Monica) and her best friend are caught cheating during an exam by the toughest professor in the university. After Mo asks for a second chance, the teacher invites the young women to his place. It’s all seemingly fun and games, until Mo’s illusions of control are shattered. Without spoiling its gut-wrenching climax, it’s safe to say that this debut feature is possibly the most daring film made in Romania recently. An edgy exercise in the abuse of power, Mo’s #MeToo narrative comes alive with two amazing performances: Dana Rogoz as the cocky yet vulnerable title character and veteran Răzvan Vasilescu’s unpredictable turn as the charming and cultured yet monstrous professor. U.S. Premiere

Director Radu Dragomir & actress Dana Rogoz in person

Jacob Burns Film Center

Dec 07, 2019
7:30 pm

Monsters.

Marius Olteanu. 2019, Romania, 116 min

Dana and Arthur have been married for a little over a decade and seem like a happy, loving couple. But when they are alone, it’s clear to both of them that their differing needs, beliefs, choices, and inner demons are destroying their bond—and they must decide whether letting go is the biggest proof of love. Presented in three chapters that cleverly play with the screen format, and directed with profound empathy by Marius Olteanu, this powerful Bergman-like study of a marriage underlines how we unintentionally hurt the ones we love. Best Debut at the Transilvania International Film Festival.

Jacob Burns Film Center

Dec 08, 2019
6:00 pm

Arrest

Andrei Cohn. 2019, Romania, 126 min

In August 1983, architect Dinu is spending a perfect summer’s day with his family on the Romanian coast, but the idyll is shattered by the sudden arrival of the police. For reasons unknown, Dinu is arrested and immediately hauled off to prison, where he finds himself sharing a cell with a small-time crook (an impressive Iulian Postelnicu) who proves to have a sinister agenda. In this tense and visceral two-hander that recalls the early works of Roman Polanski, director Andrei Cohn makes full use of the confined space of a squalid cell: Using inventive compositions, he delivers a chilling metaphor of the Romanian totalitarian regime, whose creative brutality bordered on absurd farce. U.S. Premiere

Jacob Burns Film Center

Dec 09, 2019
7:00 pm

Parking

Tudor Giurgiu. 2019, Romania/Spain/Czech Republic, 110 min

Adrian is a Romanian immigrant working as a night watchman at a car dealership in Cordoba, Spain. A romantic soulwho left everything behind, all he wants is to write poetry and start a new life. But before he knows it, he’s over his head in a steamy love affair with a Spanish singer and a questionable money-making scheme, and must soon face the consequences. Directed by JBFC regular Tudor Giurgiu (Of Snails and Men, Why Me?) and founder of the Transilvania International Film Festival, Parking is a moody melodrama that is ultimately about a group of people, each facing their own midlife crises, not knowing how to cope with past failures but willing to dive head-on into the unknowns of the future. New York Premiere

Jacob Burns Film Center

Dec 10, 2019
7:00 pm

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