Before watching this movie, I didn't know anything about Romania as a country. But after reading it, it made me realize some of the problems in this country.
With a slightly shaky shot throughout, the film was shot with a documentary feel. It's a very simple thing. Dad works hard to make his daughter's graduation exam go well, even if the means are not bright. In the process of recording this incident of this small family, some deep-seated problems in this society are involved, but these problems appear so naturally and logically in daily life and are exposed everywhere. Police, doctors, teachers, these professions require integrity, but the film ironically presents the other side. Follow the procedure, follow the law, follow the rules? No, there is an easier way, as one dad said, follow the rules and never get in line. These concepts have been deeply embedded in the hearts of the people and are taken for granted.
Romeo was an honest and upright doctor, refusing to accept money and refusing prosecutors to interrogate Bly, these things can be seen, the husband and wife teach their daughter to be honest. But he was shaken, in the daughter's graduation exam, in the matter of identifying the rapist. It was very sad to see him being knocked to the ground by his daughter's boyfriend. At this moment, I saw his helplessness and his despair for this country from his hysteria. In the characters' dialogue, it comes up repeatedly that their generation wants to change the country and make things better, but nothing has changed and it's too late. He hopes that his daughter will go abroad, that he will go to a better country and escape this desperate place.
In many shots, Romeo is behind the camera, with the back of his head facing the camera, and even sometimes, only part of his body appears in the camera. It also shows that his role in this family is vague and silent. His mood was also reflected from it, depression and sadness. Midlife crisis also runs through the film.
The daughter's role is in stark contrast to Romeo, that is, the contrast between this generation and the previous generation. Are you familiar with it? It always feels familiar when I watch it. The father understands the underlying rules of this society. Even if he has his own pride and beliefs, he has to compromise, while the daughter, a teenager, still has a lot of hope and a beautiful vision for this world, this country, she believes in honesty , she believes in love, even without financial support. She didn't understand her father's approach, and stubbornly insisted on herself.
But at the end of the film, there is no hope left. The daughter told her father that she was crying so she could get more time to write the test paper. Isn't it unfair, whether it's to use sympathy or a relationship, she asks, am I doing a bad job, and then raises her head and smiles, that smile actually makes people feel a little cold, she is still about to become an adult, after all Some changes have been made, and in the future, will she also understand these invisible rules of society? I don't know, but the smile in the graduation photo is stiff and reluctant, like an adult's smile.
Ma Tai, this little boy, is one hope I think this film has left us. When I saw him smashing rocks, I realized that he was the "stalker" who smashed the glass. He doesn't understand the rules, he doesn't understand adults, he judges what he sees and believes what he judges. (The above are only my own inferences and opinions.)
The film draws out the problems of this country from the epitome of a small family, and a large number of dialogues promote the plot. Listening to the words of these people of various professions and identities will not feel boring. These words constitute the place where people in this society live. environment and the problems faced. This film won't be astonishing and eye-catching, but following these documentary-like shots, there is a huge sense of reality and substitution, and it is very calm.
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