It’s been around ten years since the new wave of Romanian cinema made a big impact internationally, and the forerunners of the scene are very much active.
Corneliu Porumboiu’s Directors’ Fortnight entry and arthouse hit “12:08 East Of Bucharest” won the Camera d’Or for best first film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006, and the director’s “Police, Adjective” made it into the Un Certain Regard section in 2009. Since then, he’s gone a bit experimental (“The Second Game,” “When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism”) and hasn’t been seen on the Croisette in several years, but he’s back this year with a more straightforward “tender black comedy” about a young father who is cajoled into a suburban treasure hunt by a neighbor. Here’s the official synopsis for his latest “The Treasure”:
Costi (33) leads a peaceful life. At night he likes to read his 6-year-old son stories, to help him sleep. Their favorite is Robin Hood. Costi sees himself as the hero – righter of wrongs and defender of the oppressed. One evening, his neighbor pays him an unexpected visit and shares a secret: there’s treasure buried in his grandparents’ garden, he’s sure of it. If Costi will hire a metal detector to help locate it, he’ll give him half of whatever they get. Skeptical at first, in the end Costi can’t resist. He’s on board. The two accomplices have one weekend to locate the loot. Despite every obstacle in their path, Costi refuses to be discouraged. For his wife and son, he’s a real hero – nothing and no one are going to stop him.
“The Treasure” stars Cuzin Toma, who was also seen in Radu Jude’s “Aferim!”, which received strong notices at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. “The Treasure” screens as part of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. Watch the first trailer below.
