I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS: Radu Jude's film hits screens

That statement in the headline above, which doubles as the title of this new Romanian movie, are the words of Marshal Ion Antonescu (shown on the TV screen in photo, bottom), Romania’s military dictator, to the Council of Ministers during the summer of 1941 that is said to have begun the ethnic cleansing on the Nazi's Eastern Front during World War II.

The movie itself tracks the fictional planning and execution of a particular outdoor theatrical celebratory event to take place in present-day Romania that is being put together by a certain talented, intelligent, and very driven young woman.

I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS is the creation of the very real and also very talented Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude (shown at left, of Aferim! & Scarred Hearts), who again shows us how unusually creative he can be while simultaneously breaking some cinematic rules that many of us probably hold quite dear. His long (two hours and 20 minutes) but never boring (for thoughtful audiences, at least) movie is jam-packed with discussions -- political, philosophical, biblical, historical -- by that young woman and her associates, her married boyfriend and especially the evidently high-level muckety-muck who formerly OKed her project but is now having second thoughts about the wisdom of it all.

If these discussions were not enough of a problem (come on, come on: where's the car chase?), the movie assumes an interest in Romanian history, of which we get quite a lot. By virtue of the fact that Romanian history is so very like so much of European history -- especially concerning the round-up, persecution and murder of the Jewish population -- that assumption turns out to be dead-on.

Our heroine is given such a fine and feisty performance by Ioana Iacob (shown above, center, and below, right) that we are almost immediately in her clutches. She's not simply smart and talented; she also cares about what she is doing to the extent that she'll risk her career, such as it is, to make sure her intentions -- showing her country its unvarnished past, genocides and all (Romania is said to have gladly exterminated more Jews than any other European country save Nazi Germany, together with Hitler's own homeland, Austria).

The movie is full of irony (atop and inside other ironies) so that even when dealing with the most awful portions of Romanian history, dark humor proliferates. And Jude films his provocative discussions in every possible place, including bedside, with his heroine and her boyfriend nude and full-frontal, even as they argue.

How the final event plays out -- we see it in all its detailed "glory" --  is also awash in irony. I won't go into specifics but will say that the movie in one big way disappoints because, if it was obvious to me (and probably will be to you) how things will turn out, this makes the expectations of both the heroine and her main detractor seem rather naive and ridiculous. If we so readily know, how could they not?

Still, I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians proves a rich, ripe history lesson as well as a morality tale about why a country needs to know and confront its own history, including the worst of it. God knows America still has this lesson to learn, as do more and more of the world's other homelands -- even as a sleazy, stupid nationalism continues to overwhelm their thinking populaces via jingoistic demagogues.

From Big World Pictures, in Romanian with English subtitles, the movie opens this Friday, July 19, in New York City at the IFC Center, and the following Friday, July 26, in the Los Angeles area at Laemmle's Monica Film Center. Another five cities have theatrical screenings in the weeks to come. Click here (then scroll down) to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

AFERIM! hits Blu-ray/DVD -- with an additional and delightful short film included

One of the year's best foreign language films (though it was sadly overlooked by the Academy in terms of last year's BFLF nominees) -- AFERIM! -- will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD this coming week. TrustMovies covered the film at length this past January (you can find my review here), so I will only suggest that if you missed the brief theatrical foray of this luscious black-and-white wonder, be sure to add it to your Netflix queue or find some other way to view it on Blu-ray. It not only holds up well, it grows better and richer on a second viewing.

Another reason to see the video release is the chance to watch a short film made by the same Romanian director, Radu Jude. Titled The Tube With a Hat, this 2006 work tells of a father/son short-term-but-heavy-going road trip to fix a broken TV set. Lasting but 23 minutes, this little gem encapsulates a whole world (including the intensive labor it takes to get things done in that world) that may seem strange and backward to Americans -- but also kind of humane and wonderful, too.

From the increasingly vital Big World Pictures, the Blu-ray and DVD of Aferim! and The Tube With the Hat will hit the street this coming Tuesday, June 28, for purchase or rental.

Radu Jude's AFERIM! opens: Romania's overlooked entry into the BFLF sweepstakes

It didn't get a nod from the Academy, even as one of the shortlisted films in this year's roundup of Best Foreign Language Film contenders, but Romania's entry nonetheless deserves a look from foreign film aficionados. Its title -- AFERIM! (which I am told translates from the Turkish as Bravo!) -- can only be meant ironically, as there is damned little to be "bravo-ing" about in this movie, its quality notwithstanding. These days, we are most used to films that come out of Romania as tackling one of two subjects: the current and difficult life in this now-post-Communist country or a look at the "bad old days" under the Nicolae Ceausescu regime.

To our surprise, Aferim! takes us back to some even older "bad old days," specifically to 1835, a time when the enslavement of gypsies in Romania was still very much alive and thriving. The film's writer and director,  Radu Jude (shown at right), along with his co-writer, Florin Lazarescu, and all the locations, set and costume people have given us a "period piece" that looks, to western eyes at least, even more "period" than we might imagine (maybe 1735, rather than 1835) -- so backward does everything, especially the characters, seem. But that, or course, would be the point of the ironic Bravo!

The attitudes of the people -- to each other and the world around them are so unhelpful that you might think you'd stumbled into a costume party given and attended by America's current Republican Party. Though you might find yourself chuckling now and again, Aferim! is not really a comedy. It's part satire, part road trip, and part an uncovering of history that many would rather forget. And there is one simply terrific and hilarious little speech about certain countries of the world and the particular thing that characterizes each.

The plot has to do with a brand of "Constable" (Teodor Corban, above) who has been assigned by the town's "boss" (the fellow in that bizarre "hat" shown two photos above and three photos below) to bring back an escaped gypsy slave. The circumstances under which the slave escaped will eventually become clear, but for now the Constable and his nearly-grown son head out to find the slave, while encountering all sorts of oddities along their way.

Casual betrayals by nearly one and all show the world of this time to be populated by folk who find anything and anyone unlike them to be worthless and disposable. Hate everyone, trust no one would seem to be the motto here. The groveling populace refers to the constable (and just about anyone with a little power) as "Bright Lord," and there are a number of these "Bright Lords" whom we meet as the movie progresses.

The black-and-white cinematography (by Marius Panduru) proves an enormous asset, with the camera seeming not to favor many close-ups, particularly in the initial stages of the movie. (This may be fortuitous, in that it helps us keep our distance from all concerned.) The large cast joins happily into the fray, bringing to life this time when life seemed unpleasant and most likely all too short.

By the finale of this Romanian romp, we're once again made aware of the evils of patriarchy and how power and injustice go hand in hand. If many of the subtleties of the film probably went right over my non-Romanian head, I do wonder what its original audience made of this movie: how it was perceived in its home country -- as a comedy, a provocation, or what?

Whatever, it's a very interesting film, a blend of history and unpleasant humor culminating in a grizzly act of macho power that will have males in the audience crossing their legs, while the women roll their eyes and mutter, "Men!" From Big World Pictures and running 105 minutes, Aferim! opens this Friday, January 22, in New York City (at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and the Angelika Film Center) and Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Royal and Playhouse 7) and in San Francisco (at the Opera Plaza Cinema).  To see all currently scheduled playdates, click here and scroll down.