Usturoi

I mean, who would expect a treasure hidden within a comedy? Transylvanian Garlic seems to me such a treasure. It makes one laugh, and laugh with great joy, but it also shows some wonderful Romanian landscapes, great old music, a way of life that mixes ancient rituals with up-to-date technology and the amazing beauty of people everywhere. The magic of the local speech is lost in translation, but the rest is easily accessible. The very fabric of these people's life is brought to the eye and it is charming. A straightforward celebration of life!

It made me think that this is what filming must have been originally: someone with a camera catching the sparkle of life around so that others might join in the appreciation of it. Stories and pictures. I think this is how Transylvanian Garlic was created. Add passion and talent and you get this fresh, funny, incredibly alive movie. If you get to talk with Radu Bazavan (the writer) or to Lucian Alexandrescu (the director) they might tell that all they wanted was people to have 90 minutes of fun. Don't get fooled: they did much more than that. They make you feel so alive that when the movie ends you want to see it again right then.