"Police Adjective" *** (out of ****) A few years ago many people thought some of the best modern cinema on the world stage was coming out of Romania. The trend started with "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Moartea domnului Lazarescu, 2006)" and escalated when "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 Luni, 3 Saptamani si 2 Zile, 2007)" won the Palm d'or at the Cannes Film Festival. This most recent film from Romania, "Police Adjective (Politist, Adj, 2009)" is the latest cause for celebration.
The film was directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, whose directorial debut film was "12:08 East of Bucharest (A Fost sau n-a fost?, 2007)", a movie which I liked so much I called it one of the best films of 2007. It was a political satire which much like "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" was an attack on Communist Romania. The most direct of these films was "The Way I Spent the End of the World (Cum mi-am petrocut sfarsitul lumi, 2006)". "Police Adjective" is just as critical but in a much more subtle form. And that, for me, is what lessen my viewing experience, though I am still able to admire the film and Porumboiu's style.
The film, which I saw at the Chicago International Film Festival, follows a police officer, Cristi (Dragos Bucur, who was in "Mr. Lazarescu"). For the past 8 days he has been tailing a young high school student, Victor (Radu Costin) and his friends; Alex (Alexandru Sabadac) and Victor's girlfriend, (Anca Diaconu). They have been caught smoking pot, and in Romania, it is against the law. Victor will have to be arrested but, Cristi doesn't feel his conscience will allow him to, for something in which he doesn't feel is a crime. Romania is the only European country where it is against the law. Cristi is sure the law will change soon and he doesn't want to ruin the young boy's life for something so insignificant. Instead Cristi would like to find out where Victor gets the drugs from, a suspect is Victor's older brother. But Cristi's higher ups; Anghelache (Vlad Ivanov), who gives new meaning to the term "by the book" , wants the case solved now by setting up a sting operation.
I feel it is somewhat apparent that the film is making a comment on the law and Romania's strict, perhaps, out of date interpretation of the law. They are not changing and adapting to the times. Who is the law suppose to protect? Is the law for the people or something used against the people? Porumboiu comes to an interesting conclusion which is probably more realistic than some of us may realize. Don't think Romania is the only country where this sort of pressure is put on police.
When I walked into the film I thought it was going to be a heavy, hard hitting drama. It has serious moments, and at times a dramatic tone, but, just as was the case in "12:08 East of Bucharest", Porumboiu deals with a serious subject and finds ways to insert humor. I wasn't expecting to laugh so much watching this film. It is a true sign of Porumboiu's gift. I also like the way he shows everyday life. He makes no attempt to glamorize anything. The film looks like it was shot in the same small village as "12:08". Porumboiu doesn't want to shoot his films in the capital. I guess he doesn't want to give a false impression of what life in Romania is like. Things always look better in the major cities. But the true way people live can be seen in the villages where the tourist don't travel. This is what I think makes "Police Adjective" work. Porumboiu has a good eye for establishing shots. He is one of the more gifted filmmakers around today.
But it might be for exactly those same reasons some viewer may be turned off. "Police Adjective" doesn't have the kind of excitement you'd find in an American cop movie dealing with drugs. This is not "The French Connection" (1971). In fact there really isn't any suspense at all. We never feel Cristi's life is in danger. There doesn't seem to be any chance he'll be discovered. And there is no suspense dealing with his informant being discovered blowing the case. The film instead just shows us Cristi following the boy. Heading to the police station to run checks on new names he finds or license plate numbers and heading back on the trail or even heading home to his new bride, Anca (Irina Sauescu).
One of the major scenes in the movie deals with the couple. Anca is listening to a song which Cristi doesn't understand the lyrics to. It is a love song with lyrics like "what would the sun be without the sea" or "what would the field be without the flower". Cristi doesn't understand what the song is trying to say. Anca explains what she thinks. How the song is using images which become symbols to explain love. Cristi wonders why the songwriter couldn't just come out an say what he wants to say directly. The film will end on a similar note. The song is much like the law. Open for interpretation. Everything is dependent on how we interrupt things. The law and the song say one thing, but is there a deeper meaning into those words. With these two scenes Porumboiu engages in an almost Abbott and Costello word play which had the audience I saw this film with cracking up, myself included.
I just wish Porumboiu could have been more direct himself and created more of a plot instead of the subtle form which he settled on. The humorous moments liven up the movie and engage us more but the "everyday" moments sometimes just seem to linger. And can lose the audience if they don't look for the deeper meaning.
The film has already won the FIPRESCI prize at the Cannes Film Festival and will most likely find distribution in this country thanks largely to the interest in Romanian cinema and their current "New Wave" not to mention all the acclaim "12:08 East of Bucharest" received. I would be very surprised if the film was not released theatrically in America.
If you live in Chicago the film will have one more screening on Oct. 17. If you have the opportunity to see it, I think it will be worth your time. It is one of the better films I have seen at the festival this year after the disappointing "Sweet Rush" (2009) by Andrzej Wajda and "Eccentricities of a Blond Hair Girl" (2009) directed by Manoel de Oliveira. Corneliu Porumboiu I think is a new talent. His films will truly set Romania apart from other countries.
Since reviewing this film it has been announced that it is Romania's official nominee for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
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