“My wretched life has passed like a deep sleep, like the shadow of a cloud, withering like a wildflower. And the joints of my limbs have begun to weaken, to twist and shake in my body. And my evil deeds have surpassed the countless grains of sand in the sea.” (fragment from a prayer)
In a torrid summer day in Bucharest, the priest Florin Florescu is called to a dying woman’s side for saying a prayer. Continue reading
An old man tries to play backgammon with friends while babysitting his granddaughter, who’s terrified of the young suicide in their building. Continue reading
Story
Set in early 19th century Wallachia, when a local policeman, Costandin, is hired by Iordache, a boyar (local noble), to find Carfin, a Gypsy slave who had run away from the boyar’s estate after having an affair with his wife, Sultana. Costandin sets out to find the fugitive, beginning a journey full of adventures. Gypsy slavery lasted from the 14th century up until the middle of the 19th century, a situation which is very little known and almost nonexistent in the public debate today, although its impact continues to influence Romania’s social life. Continue reading
Jay Weissberg from Variety wrote:
A runaway gypsy slave in early 19th-century Wallachia is hunted down by a constable and his son in Radu Jude’s most accomplished and original feature yet, “Aferim!” In his two previous films, Jude’s leitmotif was people’s inhumanity to one another, full of power games and humiliations. Here he stays true to the theme, using this black-and-white uber-oater to trace the roots of Romanian society’s less positive characteristics. While its tone is occasionally overly strident, “Aferim!” is an exceptional, deeply intelligent gaze into a key historical period, done with wit as well as anger. Fests will certainly check in, with possible Euro sales among specialty distribs. Continue reading