The Rage

I watched this movie with the Romanian Students Club at the University of Toronto. I was a bit late, so I missed the first few minutes, and at the end we talked about it. The opinions were divided: some felt that the movie is unfair to the Romanian reality as it focuses too much on the criminal element, others didn't like it because they felt it's too Russian, yet some saw similarities with "Snatch" or "28 Days Later" but most were either silent or seemed to have liked it. A singular voice claimed that the movie may be a reflection of the society (was he trying to incite comments?), while others felt that it was a parable. As for me, I found it hard to form an opinion, especially because of the complete lack of any frame of reference. Still, if a comparison is warranted, I've seen some ideas from Tarantino delivered with French candour (an Amores Perros made in Ro?!?). I haven't seen all the Romanian movies made after the fall of the stalinist regime. But of those few that I did see, most were very good, met or exceeded my expectations, and this is no exception.

The movie starts out on a light note, and seems to develop along the beaten path of Hollywood style teen comedies - fortunately, I missed most of this part. Luckily, the director abandons this avenue, the action takes off, drama unfolds, and we watch our heroes living - and dying - on the edge.

The main characters do represent indeed a generation, even though I did not identify with them. I wouldn't call them a "generation of sacrifice" as some did, because all generations in Romania have a claim to that qualifier, with the exception perhaps of those who lived in the interbellic decades (and even for them, those who had it best spent their retirement in prisons, in exile, or in a fetid basement overtaken by anxiety). There is a dark reality of Romanian life, strikingly apparent in the movie, a reality which cannot be denied through PR exercises: there's an appalling lack of horizons and opportunities for the young generation. It's no surprise then that most young Romanians, including our heroes, see immigration as the only way out, as the only hope, but few have the means to take this route.

Yet, despite the gloomy circumstances, the director/writer is able to present an involving, fast paced storyline. The premise is very credible and the actors lively and candid in their interpretation. Some scenes emerge from the uniform desperation as uniquely funny, but we don't even have time to catch our breath and realise it, as we are too involved (the movie was rated as Action/Comedy, but it's more of an Action/Drama in my view).

Certain characters are insufficiently developed, like the hardened thug who had to "take care" of the main (anti)hero. Certain scenes in the movie have their own rhythm and appear interconnected (maybe the scenes where emotions flow without words; words disappear in the background or simply sublimate), such as the spectacle with the two dwarf parents, the scene with Luca's parents or the very end, which is a nefarious conclusion to the search for a way out. The end shouldn't surprise. The hero engaged on a one-way street, and only a miracle could've saved him. But miracles don't happen in this part of the universe, so his struggle to keep his head out of the slimy, green water is destined to fail...

Perhaps the frequent comparisons to other cinema schools are rooted in the lack of awareness about movies from this part of the world. Is it not possible, then, that this movie, like several others before it (The Oak, Filantropica, Occident), is indicative of an increasingly assertive, independent, mature yet still largely unknown Romanian school of cinema?