Reviews

Well this movie is a good comedy where you really laugh , one thing we Romanians we kind of forgot lately . If retrospectively I look back , the last 23 years I can enumerate the real good Romanian comedies on the fingers of one hand , now in the last couple of years I gotta recognize that they are more than that ; I can add URSUL and BUNA CE FACI ? for example so that is a good sign; we are recovering. What personally I like about this movie that is not only realistically in a funny way but also is full of hope(s) . It's really depicting that start of the 90's when we were in transition (a transition that seems to never end) . They point to a plant in Campulung Muscel : ARO but a whole industry was sabotaged so it can be any plant in Romania that did'nt survive the transition after all.It is so real that I can relate all that is happening in the movie to the plant where I used to work , when George and Manuela are on the roof of the plant I thought that the location is the same with the plant I used to work (sectia FIAT/T38 Motor). Well what do you want ? Nostalgia.I know how is to work in a plant from my own experience , yes people are like that the way they are depicted in this movie. Bravo ! Well done , Tudor Giurgiu !

I do not have a shadow of a doubt to rate this movie with a 10 out of 10 , and I know I am not the only one who like it a lot. Probably is the best movie of the year 2010. Maybe if you already read the plot you got an idea about the movie but as the expression states:SEEING IS BELIEVING you we'll realize that this is exactly the case; You have to see it ! It is so rare nowadays to see real directors with good ideas , imagination and directors who tells us stories , now when everything is cheap and kitsch most of the Hollywood movies are remakes or you got the impression they got nothing to offer .As I mentioned in the title this movie is marked by a magical realism but is not like Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende or another Latin American writer the magical realism is European or should I locate it to the central and eastern Europe. They are no stereotypes about eastern europeans or politics in this movie , and there is a story , you just have to be patient , actually the movie is about story telling from the moment Mona starts to tell the story of herself and her daughter and later on at the fair and at the end in the furniture store.

We see in this pleasant movie (after all is made as a sequel of a TV series) a different perspective , a different angle of that is really Romania , a country with incredible landscapes , rich culture , traditions and folklore. I don't want to tell about the plot but the westerners they will open their eyes wider as before after watching this movie , same as some characters of this mentioned movie. All the stereotypes and clichés they crumbled one after the other . That I personally like about this movie is the light , the image , every thing is bathed with sun is just a pleasure for the eye , the majesty of Carpathians (I don't agree with the term Transylvanian Alps) , the contrast of modern and ancestral. That's Romania ! Still a nice comedy , definitely worth watching.

It is so hard to see a good historical movie nowadays and this movie is the perfect example. Nothing is credible, it is so Hollywood-istical , so cliché, so full of stereotypes . I gave it 3 stars just for the beauty of the landscape , Carpathian mountains notably,otherwise it,s just a pure waste of time . They are several goofs: -English language was not spoken in that part of Eastern Europe at that time. Ashamed of Hungarian or what ? -Italian painter (i don't name him) never had nothing to do with Bathories. -The 2 spies/friars they were unnecessary clowns added to the ridiculous plot . -Roller skates , parachute,telescope.... Come on , the action of the movie is happening around the year 1600 A.D. Over 2 hours of what ? You learned out that allegedly countess Bathory was a sort of nun and not a sadistic person.

I saw this movie many times in my life : childhood , teenage years , adulthood and I laughed all the time and every time for a different reason , but I also penetrated through a deeper meaning , through a concealed message hidden inside the movie . That is because myself I experienced how is to be alone in a foreign country , how is to live an immigrant's life away from your native country . It is not only about Italians , is a tribute to all those desperadoes , easy prey ,those easy to fool people(immigrants)...who themselves they are fooling each other and they are bragging about social conditions that they will probably never achieve but they present them like their day to day normal way of living : good paid salaries , American car , paid off house , but the reality is different : their life is a nightmare ! They are tragicomic situations in the movie , I will enlist just a few : -Then the Italian grandmother wants to talk to their nephews (at the airport), the kids speak only English , that also is an common thing amongst immigrants (that happens to many immigrants not only Italians , but generally speaking to people who are ashamed of their roots) -Then the spouse by mail (Carmela) is taken care by Amedeo at the airport she jumps quickly in the Rolls-Royce she thinks is normal that every immigrant drives Ferrari,Lamborghini,Mercedes,BMW,Rolls-Royce......etc. -In the train when Carmela tries to reach Amedeo (who had a seizure) she takes a seat next to 3 compatriots who of course they speak Italian between each other , and they narrate about a mine where so many people from Bergamo died therefore it is was called the cemetery of bergamasci ,also she is not uttering a single word in Italian , that is another common thing between immigrants who don't want to mingle with fellow compatriots. As somebody said already immigrants are living in their past ... before the bad choice they made , they are uprooted with whatever happens in the motherland . You will laugh in this movie but you will also shed a tear (or more), anyway you will admire two great actors of the (in my opinion) world cinema : Alberto Sordi and Claudia Cardinale.

Well first of all I like the title : it is very suggestive , very theatrical . This movie is a needed change of rhythm in the Romanian cinema because it is depicting an episode of pioneering cinema in Romania . The year is 1912 but INDEPENDENCE WAR do not forget : is not the very first Romanian movie , maybe it is the first historical movie , even from the historical point of view the real UNION came in 1918 with Basarabia and Transilvania joining Valahia and Moldova ...but we are getting too much into national history .That era depicted in film is when Bucharest was opening more to European influences and especially french culture , it later became LITTLE Paris and it was not an exaggeration at all. French was spoken by aristocrats , intellectuals , artists and even common people. Of course the movie is got a lot of comic moments , we are Romanians N'EST CE PAS ? Do not forget also that haughty people they despised cinema , they preferred theater . I know they we're right but , let's get over it . Cinema was incredible cheap , even in those days , it was a sort of entertainment for low social classes , for the mob . But of course in time people they changed up minds , it is to admire the passion the people involved in this project they sacrifice to see their dream come true . Also it is showing us how VOLATILE and transient the films are ......they burn so easily .I enjoyed watching this movie , and is a nice feeling to know that they are still people who cares about CINEMA .

If I did not take in account the over inflated good reviews , I was never renting this DVD .....I still cry for the money I spend so foolishly . Anyway is a bad bad bad experience ! The movie starts with a extra bad scene , somehow I made connection with an Italian movie where Alberto Sordi was transferred from Sicily to US and forced to kill an Italian-American mobster in a New York (I think....) barber shop , the clients they pretended to see no evil , hear no evil , A.S. he is doing his job and leaves . That scene was classical but the one in EASTERN PROMISES is hilarious : the old barber made all the hints possible to the young guy to finish the sitting customer ,first he (young) is closing the door then pulling the blinds , he is concealing ,,something" under the newspaper and then the customer is about to make acquaintance with him and shake hands he is sort of paralyzed he is not shaking hands , anyway the sitting guy who seems to be a tough guy he is killed by a retard and an old man. Only in movies !The cutting throat scene is untrue , I am not an anatomist to sense the ridicule of it !There is a long list of goofs and inadvertences , I am not gonna waste your time enumerating them all , other viewers already did that . Any comparison between EASTERN PROMISES and any another mobster movie : GODFATHER , GOODFELLAS , CORLEONE , LE CLAN DES SICILIENS.....etc is just inadequate. Some directors they use a cargo of violence in a movie to justify ,,real life" but all the gruesome scenes in this movie are pointless.The moral is : do not get impressed by other people's opinion , only YOUR opinion is important . To choose a good movie is a matter of luck , risk and personal taste after all.

I was a kid (in 6th grade) when I saw this movie , Of course I liked this movie for different reasons : I was attracted at that time by the music , by the intensity of scenes ....etc. Now as a mature person I can add more to that picture : the costumes are beautiful , the image is beautiful , sunny , colorful , and after all who can forget the mesmerizing eyes of Rada especially in two scenes : when she stopped with a single look the unchained horses of the baron and second scene with Luicu Zoibar. Now a lot of time elapsed since the movie was released , the director Emil Loteanu and actor Grigore Grigoriu are not with us , but this gem is actual and brand new , it never got old . I agree that is better than Gatliff or Kusturica as a gypsy movie , nobody was more authentic in depicting gypsy life as Loteanu , costumes are authentic , besides main characters the rest of SATRA are real ethnic Gypsies , not look- alike , songs are sung in Romany not Russian or whatever , and they were sung in a lot of weddings or parties in Romania , everybody knew them (even people who never watched the movie).As I said Gypsies are depicted as they are : with qualities , with defects , no stereotypes , unbiased. They are not the Gypsies of SNATCH , where Brad Pitt looks anything you like : Chinese,Arab,east-European.....whatever but never like a gypsy. Who wants to know more about Roma nation they should watch this movie . It is a sad and impossible love but I do not say more I let the viewer to judge this movie . Myself I was impressed and I had a wonderful experience re-watching this movie , you award this with an Oscar and still is not enough... It is a must see !

This movie did not played in Romanian cinemas before 1990 , and this is not for a few female nudes here and there is because our censorship was more rabid more attentive to every tiny detail , after all they were people who red Kant,Dante,Kierkegard,Camus,Ovid.....but on the other side they were applying torturing methods that made marquis de Sade looks like an diletttante . Don't expect to laugh like crazy .... Those two scientists they found themselves in a totally different era there MISSINFORMATION rules as it did very well in other decades of history , whatever you call it communism,dictatorship,democracy,feudalism THE MOB does not have to know too much , not to think , they are other people who are doing .....THE THINKING. The mob is got one big responsibility : to obey the ruling class , not to criticize even if is an insignificant thing .I said that maybe is not much to laugh about it in the first half , after all the two scientists are terrorized , beaten up by a bunch of brain-washed , insensitive , cruel women.They were educated that man is a mistake of nature , entire history was changed (even Bible) to fit NEW AGE ERA ...as somebody said is not BIG BROTHER now is BIG SISTER and the year this movie was released is 1984!!!!!!!! Too much of a coincidence ! Why I said is visionary is that is applying to modern days , there people are monitored , telephone calls tapped and so on....in the name of national security you can do whatever , it does not matter that they are thrashing the human rights . Anyway they were never been respected , same as Geneva Convention . But this movie is got a happy-end unlike 1984 , I am still amazed that they were able to run that movie into cinemas in the eighties.They were so many hints towards totalitarian regimes , after all. It is worth watching , definitely.

When I see a movie I really do not care about other commentaries. I just follow my guts, my intuition ,my taste ,my mood.... and after all I am entitled to my own opinion . I liked this movie a lot , but it is hard to understand it if you are not from Balkans , not from Europe (especially eastern Europe). It's got so many references to Romanian folk-stories ,Romanian riddles ,fairy tales and Romanian ethos , Romanian essence after all . We live in a (and especially in West) a world estranged of myths , mystics and legends. And that's bad ! Young generations they do not know their own people's proverbs , it is a shame ! This movie is full of hints to proverbs, riddles and folklore(all Romanian) .It is hard to relate if you got no knowledge about those things ! This sequel is almost good as the first one , too bad people they forgot the sense of humor . This is almost as depressing as that message in front of DANTE's INFERNO : LASCIATE OGNI SPERANZA VOI CHE'ENTRATE.... Leave all your hopes , you who are entering (the Inferno) Because if you don't have hope what is left ? No hope , faith , sense of humor.... This movie is comical in the Romanian way , and I loved it . Please watch it ! You will not regret it . Romanian cinema was in need for a (good) comedy , most of after '90 movies they were like LADRI DI BICICLETTE , neo-realistical , sad,tragic but true but then once in a while you need some entertainment like this comedy for a change . People do not loose the sense of humor !

Does not matter if they were called STASI , SECURITATE , KGB , SEKURIMI.... they are just names , but behind them they represented an instrument of terror , repression in what is now former communist countries . A man working for such an organization can be A GOOD MAN (moral,compassionate,human,unbiased,tolerant....) ? How many of them they had a conscience ? It is hard to say that agent (whatever his codename was) is torn by guilt , conscience or simply love for beautiful actress . Who knows ? For me that is an enigma . More people who voted positively for this movie are from eastern Europe ; is normal they witnessed those events (as myself) you can forget those times , with bad things , good things filtered of course by personal opinion and personal experience . I did not know then the time flew , I was enthralled , enchanted , even if I kind of had guessed some things they gonna end up bad . A very moving and humane movie !

You like a movie , O.K. ....but then you got to explain to other people why ? As somebody already said it , no carcrashes , special effects , free and unnecessary nudities. A family movie , But it's also about life ,family relationships ,a purpose in life , spiced with comic moments and also with the dilemma : How you deal with genuine geniuses ? . As parent , friend , neighbour or simple aquintance . We all passed trough those moments in life . What are we gonna become ? Artist ? Lawyer ? Butcher ? Athlete ? Scientist ? Electrician ? Pilot ? Vet ? Carpenter ? Taxi-driver ? Did we make the right decision ? Watching this movie I thought about Mozart's childhood or maybe the waste of childhood , sacrifice of childhood he had . He was no ordinary fellow , but then again Nicola Tesla was a genius as well and who knows how his childhood was like ? But to return to the movie , Vitus loves life and his parents , even if is hard for him to express that , he is a wunderkind after all, even when he names his educator at kindergarten Obelix he does not do that out of being rude. Even if my fellow compatriot (Teo Gheorghiu) is playing a role , so it's obeying to a script it looks more like this movie is inspired by a real character , a (mini)biography of Teo Gheorghiu . In the real life he is like that..... Good performances by Bruno Ganz and of course Teo Gheorghiu. Bravo! .

I was disgusted then I saw this movie . As a romanian I can assure Romania is not only that ! Get the plane and check it out for yourself ! How can anyone portray just slums , beggars , low-income families and such and declare : this is real . This is the only reality . Every country they got their poors . Maybe it is an incompatibility between West and East , maybe it is all stereotypes . It is a lot easier to avoid reality . This movie is a waste of time , made by a untalented director. The plot , the story is quite absent ... Poor cinematography ! Watching this I think everybody can make movies ! The only reason I rented this movie is because ethnicity . Bad choice ! I highly do not recommend this !

Yes this movie can be compared to many : SOPHIE'S CHOICE , MALENA , MAMA ROMA.......etc.The subject is universal and atemporal : How far will go a mother to save his child (her children) , to provide for him(them) ? A mother's love can be measured in those difficult moments of life . I liked particularly one moment in the movie when Ion ask that his children to eat first and then later he will have the dinner , this man animalized , despicable for some he puts the children first , that shows there is some humanity left in him.Also Ion is the result of a decadent society , where supposedly we are free , we are allowed to protest , even we can torch ourselves . Who cares ? Ion is losing his job , then the rest is just domino principle , snowball or whatever you wanna call it ,a series of violence , alcohol , gambling.But Maria is got a strong character , like Atlas with a huge globe on his back she is taking the responsibilities of feeding a large family , despite misery.

Well , of course everybody is entitled to have an opinion about a thing ...everything. The presentation was interesting : black and white movie , the year 1968 , students manifestations , general strike , youth , ideals, love.....etc. Sorry but I did not sense LOVE , ROMANCE . A lover who is all right that his girlfriend sleeps with no matter who ? That is love ? But not only that , the movie is very long and for no reason , I had to stop watching the movie several time because I simply lost interest. I waited for something to happen but .......NOTHING. The only thing I was impressed during the movie : Gypsy fiddler playing in the streets , yes that was nice. I do not think that art should be complicated , encrypted , hidden in secret meanings , confusing .Big disappointment and waste of time !

To judge a movie just for the landscapes,decor,costumes....it is just not right , you are missing the core : THE STORY

A movie has to narrate something , to tell a story something that impress you . Yes , I was pleased by the sea , cliffs , clear water and all that but ... There is the plot ?

They are more interesting movies with mad people , such as : FLIGHT OVER THE CUCKOO"S NEST...etc...etc. This one is about a crazy woman who is more attached to dogs than his children or his husband. Just a clear psychiatric case !!!! Nothing extraordinary.Unfortunately a waste of time . And there is all that rage coming from ? Fish smell ? Sea ?

I just bought the DVD blindfolded in a way , without knowing much about the movie , Now I congratulate myself for this buy . The comments from this site are like from the agony to ecstasy , some are giving few stars 1 or 2 and others 10/10. I regret I did not give it a 10/10.Of course there are some goofs,mistakes,anachronisms ...etc.But you should get your attention to the story . Painters are artists and therefore they are not normal people , they can't be .An artist does not measure in material things . How much earned Phidias , or Ovid , or Aesop ? Their works lasts centuries and millenniums , time is the best critic . I felt sympathetic for Modigliani , for his tragic and sad life .But nothing was in vain.That is my opinion . Very moving film , touching . A must see ! I highly recommend it.

We got the tendency to browse old films to found masterpieces : CASABLANCA,CITIZEN KANE,POTEMKIN...etc.But a real gem can be very close to you , it just waits to be discovered . I wanted to see badly that movie , therefore I have driven almost 300 km back and forth all way to Toronto , foreign movies are rarities around here . I was deeply moved by this excellent movie , I did'nt realize I spend almost 3 hours in a cinema theater , and I still wanted more.Good lesson of humanity,acceptance,tolerance.A few directors nowadays they got guts to raise issues , as racism,anti-semitism,uprooting,treatment of foreigners ....A movie does'nt have to be just entertainment , a movie got to be also a motive of reflections. A must see !

Definitely an interesting fantastic movie , worth watching,but nobody says anything about the end , which is kind of at your own appreciation.I don't wanna say more. Just watch it ! Anna Karina is great ,but also Jean-Claude Carriere is doing a good job .I don't know but it's the first time I heard of a novelist playing in an adaptation of his own book . Interesting ,no ? What I like also about the movie is also that is original , can't be compared to any other movie . It's not only about a devoted veterinarian and scientist but also about his marriage with a mysterious woman . Basically they are 2 characters : HIM and HER , they met by an agency , they wed , so far nothing special but there's suspense , and mystery in the air especially her trips where she ...buys nothing.On the other side him is turning the huge bourgeois apartment into a zoo , interested in extrasensory perceptions of the various animals he's collecting.What do you think , somebody (lover ?) resided in that apartment before ? Before him.

A movie for all ages ! I saw it more than 30 years ago . It's still fresh and candid , you gotta see it for yourself ! Just a remark : the movie is ROMANIAN not Romanian-Mexican.You're gonna enjoy the setting : Danila Puss's Mill , the mountain chalet in the mountains , She-Fox's den ...It's about (the movie)that age of innocence called childhood when everything seem to be possible , when it's hard to discern reality of fiction . Also you'll gonna recognize one of La Fontaine's famous fable (the one with the crow and the fox). Veronica seem to be a sort of Romanian version of Shirley Temple , she can dance and sing but also she's genuine and spontaneous . A movie who marked our childhood (those from east-European countries but not only).