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R.M.N. (2022)
Doesn't come with the right package
Before I start rambling, let me say this is a good movie.
What didn't work for me was the structure of the story. The xenophobic subplot swallows completely the Matthias plot in the second half of the movie, to the point that this subplot becomes the plot. Because the involvement of Matthias with the xenophobic incident is weak, I was left with the impression that the movie has two different stories that are only feebly connected. The xenophobic incident is the reason why this film exists, and it clearly needed a fictional package to make it work as a movie, but the Matthias plot (in its current form at least) doesn't feel like the right package.
The nudity in the Csilla and Matthias scene is gratuitous, and I don't believe it works artistically. If you put a Brazzers logo on the bottom left of the screen, I think what you get is the beginning of a beautiful porn movie.
Now, a few words about image: the temperature of the color is too cold. I get it, it's winter, it's cold, the characters live in a cold, heartless world, but the color temperature feels overly dramatic.
I got more to ramble about, but I'll end on a positive note: Mungiu depicts the xenophobic incident in a comprehensive and objective way (which reminded me how well he crafted his 2012 movie, Beyond the Hills). I believe this is where RMN shines.
Crai nou (2021)
Okay for a debut film, but...
The script is where this film fails. The main character is crafted quite well - Irina is a complex character, she feels real, and I was able to care for her. But building the male characters is where the screenwriter seems to have struggled a lot. They are stereotypical and don't feel real, with their personality centered around smoking compulsively. They are built very unevenly, with mostly their negative sides shown, which is no-no for a good and confident screenwriter.
My overall experience with this film was watching Irina and caring for her as she struggled in a world of unrealistic characters having unrealistic relationships and unrealistic (mostly hysterical) reactions.
The image is great, sound is good (although sometimes it's hard to hear Irina), editing runs pretty smooth. Perhaps the acting would have needed more work from the director - I sometimes felt the actors playing Liviu and Viki were playing in a theatrical convention, whereas most of the other actors were leaning on the realistic convention (the director needs to bring them together on the same acting style).