The 'New Wave' of Romanian cinema can be characterized with a dynamic between a beautiful cinematography and a horrible approach to storytelling (or rather the lack of a story altogether). Unfortunately, 'Metronom' is no exception.
Visually speaking, the movie is stunning, shot in a 4:3 format. Every frame can practically be hanged on a wall. Wide shots that depict the young students as small in comparison with the surroundings, calling out the condition of living inside an oppressive regime. Close shots are usefully applied to show, on the one hand the intimacy of the confined world of the student's party, and on the other the tension and stress of the 'interrogation'. The beautiful imagery is accompanied by great, relatable (on the part of the students) and masterfully horror inducing (on Vlad Ivanov's part).
Unfortunately, the goods that this movie provide stop here. With the exception of one scene (which I will get to a bit later), the movie is plagued by the same tropes that 'arthouse' Romanian cinema has been suffering from ever since the first proper 'New Wave' installment (The Death of Mister Lazarescu) was released in 2004. While the plot of the movie is an interesting topic (the experiences of youth in the so-called 'Golden Age' of Romanian Communism), the movie fails to build a proper story that drives the plot to a pertinent completion. On the contrary, yet again, the story is left somewhere in the background, only for the plot and movie serve as a vessel to put forward a message supposedly delivered to the audience: communism is bad. While the message is completely true, it should not be the driving force of the movie. It should not be served up on a platter, while the audience is forced to consume it for the duration of the movie.
Thus, the story is left estranged, we know what happens with the characters, and we understand the betrayal that Ana feels in the end. However, this is overshadowed by the straight-in-your-face method of depicting the aforementioned message. There should be a balance between story and meaning. The meaning, the message should be discovered with the unfolding of the story, left for digestion and contemplation, not chewed upon for one and a half hours only for it to leave a bitter aftertaste. Beautiful cinematography and great acting can only do so much for a movie, and in this case, they don't save it.
There is but one scene where the movie shines and we get a glimpse of how cinematography, music, acting and story can harmoniously go together to form true cinema. What I am talking about is the moment after the unfulfilled love scene at the party, where Ana wanders from place to place in the apartment looking for a refuge for her broken heart, for a friend to confide in. She is only met with loving couples, symbols of fulfilled teenage love. As she wanders, we feel her desperation growing with each pair of lovers she clashes with. The rendition of Janis Joplin's Kozmic Blues in the background ties the scene together, offering a musical and lyrical representation of what might go through Ana's heart at the moment. The beauty of the scene abruptly ends as Ana leaves the apartment and we are brought back together in the movie as we are hit by the silence that so characterizes the soundtrack of 'Romanian New Wave'.
All in all, the movie feels more like a reminder of what communism meant, rather than a piece of cinema. The image and the acting save it as it gets a passing grade of 5/10, and left me overall disappointed with it.
Visually speaking, the movie is stunning, shot in a 4:3 format. Every frame can practically be hanged on a wall. Wide shots that depict the young students as small in comparison with the surroundings, calling out the condition of living inside an oppressive regime. Close shots are usefully applied to show, on the one hand the intimacy of the confined world of the student's party, and on the other the tension and stress of the 'interrogation'. The beautiful imagery is accompanied by great, relatable (on the part of the students) and masterfully horror inducing (on Vlad Ivanov's part).
Unfortunately, the goods that this movie provide stop here. With the exception of one scene (which I will get to a bit later), the movie is plagued by the same tropes that 'arthouse' Romanian cinema has been suffering from ever since the first proper 'New Wave' installment (The Death of Mister Lazarescu) was released in 2004. While the plot of the movie is an interesting topic (the experiences of youth in the so-called 'Golden Age' of Romanian Communism), the movie fails to build a proper story that drives the plot to a pertinent completion. On the contrary, yet again, the story is left somewhere in the background, only for the plot and movie serve as a vessel to put forward a message supposedly delivered to the audience: communism is bad. While the message is completely true, it should not be the driving force of the movie. It should not be served up on a platter, while the audience is forced to consume it for the duration of the movie.
Thus, the story is left estranged, we know what happens with the characters, and we understand the betrayal that Ana feels in the end. However, this is overshadowed by the straight-in-your-face method of depicting the aforementioned message. There should be a balance between story and meaning. The meaning, the message should be discovered with the unfolding of the story, left for digestion and contemplation, not chewed upon for one and a half hours only for it to leave a bitter aftertaste. Beautiful cinematography and great acting can only do so much for a movie, and in this case, they don't save it.
There is but one scene where the movie shines and we get a glimpse of how cinematography, music, acting and story can harmoniously go together to form true cinema. What I am talking about is the moment after the unfulfilled love scene at the party, where Ana wanders from place to place in the apartment looking for a refuge for her broken heart, for a friend to confide in. She is only met with loving couples, symbols of fulfilled teenage love. As she wanders, we feel her desperation growing with each pair of lovers she clashes with. The rendition of Janis Joplin's Kozmic Blues in the background ties the scene together, offering a musical and lyrical representation of what might go through Ana's heart at the moment. The beauty of the scene abruptly ends as Ana leaves the apartment and we are brought back together in the movie as we are hit by the silence that so characterizes the soundtrack of 'Romanian New Wave'.
All in all, the movie feels more like a reminder of what communism meant, rather than a piece of cinema. The image and the acting save it as it gets a passing grade of 5/10, and left me overall disappointed with it.