Aferim!

Aferim! (English: Bravo!) is a 2015 Romanian drama film directed by Radu Jude and produced by Ada Solomon.[3] It was screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where Radu Jude won the Silver Bear for Best Director.[4] It was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.[5][6]

Aferim!
Film poster
Directed byRadu Jude
Written byRadu Jude
Florin Lăzărescu
Produced byAda Solomon
StarringVictor Rebengiuc
Luminița Gheorghiu
Music byDana Bunescu
Distributed byParada Film
Micro Film
Big World Pictures (USA)[1]
Release dates
  • 11 February 2015 (2015-02-11) (Berlin)
  • 6 March 2015 (2015-03-06) (Romania)
Running time
108 minutes
CountriesRomania
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
France
LanguageRomanian
Box office$350,110[2]

Plot

The film is set in Wallachia in the early 19th century, when a local policeman, Costandin (played by Teodor Corban), is hired by Iordache, a boyar, to find Carfin (played by Toma Cuzin), a Gypsy slave who had run away from the boyar's estate after having an affair with his wife, Sultana.[7]

Cast

Production

While the structure and the narrative had little in common with existing Romanian literature, the dialogue is often based on works by Iordache Golescu, Anton Pann, Ion Creangă, Budai-Deleanu and Nicolae Filimon.[8]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 76 critics, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Smart, visually arresting, and scathingly funny, Aferim! depicts a world that many American filmgoers have never seen – but will still, in many respects, find utterly familiar".[9] On Metacritic, the film have an above average score of 84 out of 100 based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[10]

Publication The Hollywood Reporter describes Radu Jude's film as "a harsh lesson of history, relieved by overlooked humor and classic Western elements". Variety magazine writes that Aferim! is "an exceptional and extremely intelligent insight into a crucial period of history, a film equally inspired and furious".[11]

According to Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian, "this [film] with all its full-frontal historical horror, is still loaded with laughs".[12]

A.O. Scott of The New York Times called Aferim! "brilliant" and "sublime",[13] while Kit Gillet of the same periodical went as far as calling it "an Oscar contender".[14]

See also

References
  1. "Aferim!". Big World Pictures. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. "Aferim!". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  3. "Aferim! (2015)". Cinemagia (in Romanian). Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. "Prizes of the International Jury". Berlinale. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  5. "And Romania's nomination for next year's Oscars is..." Romania Insider. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  6. Kozlov, Vladimir (7 August 2015). "Berlin Winner 'Aferim!' Picked Up for U.S. Distribution". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. Blaga, Iulia (11 February 2015). ""Aferim!", un western valah despre intoleranță și multe altele". HotNews.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  8. Pârvulescu, Diana (13 February 2015). "INTERVIU: Jude, despre "Aferim" - o legătură dintre trecut şi prezent, realităţi ce se perpetuează". Mediafax.ro (in Romanian). Berlin. Retrieved 4 September 2023. Radu Jude: În ce priveşte structura, povestea şi anumite situaţii narative, literatura mi-a folosit mai puţin, temele abordate în film nu prea există în literatură. Dar replicile pe care personajele le spun sunt luate într-adevăr din surse literare: Iordache Golescu, Anton Pann, de la Creangă am mai luat câte ceva. Şi de la Budai-Deleanu, din mulţi scriitori. Şi din Nicolae Filimon, de la Filimon chiar mai mult.
  9. "Aferim! (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  10. "Aferim! Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  11. Călin, Dorina (12 February 2015). "Ce scrie presa de specialitate despre "Aferim!": Incursiune excepțională, inteligentă în istorie; un film inspirat, furios; o lecție aspră de istorie". Mediafax.ro (in Romanian).
  12. Hoffman, Jordan (20 January 2016). "Aferim! review: a brutal manhunt loaded with laughs". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  13. Scott, A.O. (21 January 2016). "Review: 'Aferim!' Traverses an Unforgiving Romania in the 1800s". The New York Times. p. C6.
  14. Gillet, Kit (8 September 2015). "'Aferim!', an Oscar Contender, Explores the Enslavement of the Roma". The New York Times. p. C1.
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