{"id":8029,"date":"2025-12-06T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T07:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=8029"},"modified":"2025-12-06T07:00:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T07:00:33","slug":"romanian-film-review-dracula-miriam-raducanu-rigor-and-sense-internal-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=8029","title":{"rendered":"Romanian film review \u2013 Dracula, Miriam R\u0103ducanu \u2013 Rigor and Sense, Internal Zero"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am a bit late to the party, but I have thoughts (and concerns) on Radu Jude\u2019s much talked-about Dracula,<\/em> and even more thoughts (and compliments) on other films that I fear might have gone under the radar a bit. Let\u2019s go!<\/h4>\n

There is no more recognizable marketing asset for the local tourism (and no more kitschy) than Dracula. And so, it must have been a matter of time until prolific Radu Jude dug his mischievous teeth into this. And boy, does he go all in. His Dracula<\/em><\/strong> is irreverent, foul-mouthed, overlong, uneven, funny, childish, tacky, absorbing, annoying, often at the same time. The list of attributes could go on forever, as would a detailed synopsis of the film. In the interest of economy, I can sum it up as placing the count and the myth of the undead in various times and places of Romanian history, in 13 chapters.<\/p>\n

There is a lot to admire in the pic’s intention and critical view of mass tourism, capitalism and many more current malaises. The director works with his usual irony but this time with heavier cynicism and detachment. And he does it by integrating AI to comment on some of the current tropes, but these passages are eye-soaringly distasteful. And how many genitalia and fellatio jokes \u2013 I am being diplomatic here; you can probably guess the terms used in the film \u2013 until it gets from amusing to tiresome? Seems like Jude wants to rub his self-proclaimed celebration of bad-taste movie in your face<\/a>, just like that one character that spits all the time. One big phlegm here, no f*cks given. This is where the film annoyed me. If the intention was to make a ‘bad’, shocking movie, a provocation, then so be it, but the interesting (and endearing) thing about what might be a bad movie is the makers\u2019 love for their subject, an infectious enthusiasm and passion, even if the result might be a mess. At least that\u2019s the case with movies still worth seeing, films that have reached a cult status. But a cynical, never-ending infantile joke, a male gaze toying with offensive quips: less so.<\/p>\n

And that’s a shame because as usual with Jude, there are brilliant scenes and ideas popping up everywhere. Dracula going to the dentist is a great (much too short) gag, and the rural love story is also something to behold. So are the performers: R\u0103zvan Pavlu absolutely nailing his morality-preaching Orthodox priest (he also steals the show in Kontinental \u201825<\/em><\/a>, Jude\u2019s previous film), and Gabriel Spahiu in the lead\u2013 no challenge here either, because Spahiu steals the show whatever he does. Ultimately there\u2019s too much here, and too many interruptions, too long, too tonally disjointed. Still, the fun often prevails, making Dracula<\/em> entertaining throughout; it sure kept me on my toes as to what will happen next. You can still catch it in theatres.<\/p>\n

And now, for something completely different, a portrait of an artist\u2019s life, made with the utmost reverence and generosity: Alexandra Gulea\u2019s Miriam R\u0103ducanu \u2013 Rigor and Sense\/ Miriam R\u0103ducanu \u2013 Rigoare \u0219i senZ<\/strong>. <\/em>The artist<\/a> is a hugely influential choreographer who shaped Romania\u2019s contemporary dance. She is probably most famous for her series of performances with equally brilliant Gigi C\u0103ciuleanu. The documentary is a montage film alternating current talks with R\u0103ducanu, archive pictures and dance footage by of the most original contemporary directors. Alexandra Gulea works with spare context information, letting facts emerge gradually while favouring a sensory connection to the topic. As such, her tribute to R\u0103ducanu and ultimately the driving force of lifelong passion is beautiful, inspiring, moving. And admirably economical: this is a compact film with a precise selection of material but all the more expressive. The doc has been touring festivals and was screened on national TV where I\u2019m sure it will feature again. I\u2019ve spotted it on MUBI<\/a>, hopefully also to be made available soon.<\/p>\n

Also a film on artistry, but again very different in approach and subject, is Eugen Jebeleanu\u2019s Internal<\/em> Zero\/ Interior Zero<\/em><\/strong>, based on Lavinia Brani\u0219te\u2019s eponymous novel about a thirty-something woman struggling with life choices and circumstances, both professionally and personally, in a chaotic, hostile, hypercapitalist Bucharest. I haven\u2019t read the source so I cannot compare the versions, and maybe that\u2019s for the best. I had no idea what to expect and I really enjoyed Jebeleanu\u2019s adaptation for its great actors, its\u00a0assuredness of style, its intelligence and wit. You could argue the latter is the book\u2019s merit, but I would credit the director and his writer Ioana Moraru too, at least based on how much I liked their previous drama C\u00e2mp de maci\/ Poppy Field<\/em><\/a> (2020). What I liked less were all the meta-fictional choices; this is also a film about making this film. To have three actresses playing the main character is puzzling to start with, but as soon as got used to that, I got annoyed by the constant interruptions where director and actors discuss their process. All these scenes come across as self-centred and add nothing to the \u2018main\u2019 story. I wished for a less disjointed, pretentious film, but I still found myself engaged with it. Internal Zero<\/em> premiered recently but I fear its screenings have already become rare so keep an eye out for it.<\/p>\n

By Ioana Moldovan, columnist, <\/em>ioana.moldovan@romania-insider.com<\/em><\/a>
\n(Photo info & source: image from <\/em>Miriam R\u0103ducanu \u2013 Rigor and Sense from the film\u2019s press kit @Astra Film Festival) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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I am a bit late to the party, but I have thoughts (and concerns) on Radu Jude\u2019s much talked-about Dracula, and even more thoughts (and compliments) on other films that I fear might have gone under the radar a bit. Let\u2019s go! There is no more recognizable marketing asset for the local tourism (and no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8029\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}