| TALKIN' 'BOUT A REVOLUTION : '12:08 East of Bucharest' [8/10] : for Tribune |
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| Friday, 21 September 2007 | |
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12:08 East of Bucharest : [8/10] : Romania 2006 Starring : Mircea Andreescu, Teodor Corban, Ion Sapdaru Director : Corneliu Porumboiu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE awarding of Cannes' Palme d'Or to Cristian Mungiu's Ceauşescu-era abortion-drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days confirmed what cinephiles have known for some time: in terms of European arthouse cinema, Romania is very much the new rock 'n roll. Cristi Puiu's The Death of Mr Lazarescu was - last summer - the first example of this "nou" wave to obtain UK release, and now 12:08 East of Bucharest deserves, if anything, even more exposure and acclaim. It's a most auspicious and accomplished debut from writer-director Porumboiu - himself recipient of Cannes' prestigious Camera d'Or (the prize for the festival's best first feature) last year. His focus is a debate, taking place in a ramshackle provincial TV studio, analysing the precise events which transpired in the (unnamed) town during December 1989 - when Ceauşescu's regime crumbled, toppled and then, very suddenly, collapsed. There's no doubt that the Revolution took place in Romania as a whole - but it's unclear whether the events in this particular locality themselves contributed to, or were a result of, the Revolution: hence the picture's original title, A fost sau n-a fost? (literally "did it, or did it not?") These matters are threshed out in amusingly minute detail by the show's slick host Jderescu (Sapdaru), and his two guests - rumpled schoolteacher Manescu (Corban) and pensioner Piscoci (Andreescu). As the discussion continues, widely divergent memories of and perspectives on the events of December '89 emerge - and the viewing public are also very keen to contribute their two-penn'orth. Though there's an awful lot to like about the vivid performances and crisp direction, the real strong suit here is the structure of Porumboiu's screenplay. He spends half the picture setting up the three main characters and their milieu in leisurely style, the second half on the debate itself - which becomes increasingly frenetic and deadpan-humorous as it escalates. The result is a deceptively skilful and dark-toned comedy which deftly makes serious points about the way individuals contribute to the development of history, and how they themselves deal with the consequences of their actions. Strongly recommended. Neil Young written for a recent issue of Tribune magazine  adapted from original Rotterdam film-festival report
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