Mother and child It seems that in modern Romanian cinema there is some special fashion - to shake the camera. Maybe they achieve realism, the effect of presence or originality of the visual series - whatever they achieve in one thing - cause irritation in the viewer. Instead of the story that the director wants us to tell, you see the operator who is tired of holding a heavy camera in his arms, and instead of empathizing with the characters and interest in the plot, there is a desire that he already put the camera on his chair and rest.
It’s doubly disappointing that this terrible style of filming spoils the generally good touching story of a mother’s relationship with her adult son. A story that each of us understands, if not from personal experience, then from the example of friends or neighbors. In the environment of everyone there is such a hypercaring mother, literally strangling her child with care and attention, not giving him a step to step without her control. While it doesn’t sound very appealing, the character is quite interesting, and her relationship with her son can touch the soul. With a certain mood, of course, because apart from this storyline in the film there is nothing interesting and memorable.
Operator work, as already mentioned, is quite weak. Literally every scene the operator removes from his hands, so that the frame is constantly shaking and swinging. There can be no talk of any visual delights or original solutions - everything is as simple and cheap as possible. The plot is also very simple – the problem is set at the beginning and the characters solve it in the most obvious way. There are no sudden turns or passions in it. And if the unsuccessful attempts of an aging mother to keep her son eager to free themselves are not able to interest you, then it is better not to take up the film at all - it will seem unbearably boring.
It is also worth noting that the film tries to be as realistic as possible and show life as it is. To consider this a plus or minus of the picture is a purely personal matter, but this approach, especially in modern Romanian cinema, inevitably leads to the appearance of protracted and lethargy of the narrative, many useless for the plot of everyday scenes and the desire of the creators to make their feature films as documentary as possible - hence, probably, the style of shooting.
The film is quite specific and, to put it mildly, an amateur. For an amateur in a square, if I may express myself so, because even among fans of author's cinema it will be difficult for him to find his viewer.
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