Teyss If we had to give into the tradition of selecting the best movie of the year, I would undoubtedly select "Aferim!" for 2015. What strikes first is the quality of the image, an elaborate black and white with subtle tones of grey, very sharp texture and dramatic grades of shadow and light. This creates an aesthetical contrast with the grim atmosphere and living conditions depicted.It is the story of a manhunt in 19th century Romania, where a policeman (actually a mercenary hired by the boyar, a local noble) and his son chase a Gypsy to bring him back to the boyar. (Note: I will use the term "Gypsy" and not "Roma" to avoid confusion.)*** WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS ***One of the strengths of the movie is its successful combination of genres and styles.HISTORICAL. "Aferim!" very realistically depicts the life of the region at that time and notably Gypsy slavery which lasted until mid-19th century (a very rare topic in cinema). There is a strong historical research behind the movie. The structure of society is extremely pyramidal, with the boyar at the top, then his henchmen, then poor peasants, and at the bottom Gipsies. Women always are a level lower than men (wife, daughter, prostitute). There is no law: the boyar is the law, he decides what happens on his territory and hires mercenaries to have it mercilessly applied. We understand this happens on all territories. It is a reign of terror: if the policeman fails he will be severely punished. This is why we cannot fully blame the latter for what he is doing: he is brutal, but he is constrained by a system and his ignorance. Ironically, the title "Aferim" (highlighted by an exclamation mark) means "Bravo" in Ottoman Turkish, but we wonder what one could say bravo about in that society (characters use this word in the movie, since the region was for a long time part of the Ottoman empire). Important side note: it is not a movie bashing Romanian history since it has universal reach; the same barbarity happened elsewhere at different periods, including today.MORAL. The movie addresses many topics, the main ones being oppression and intolerance. There is widespread racism (against Gipsies mostly), anti-Semitism and xenophobia notably against Turks. Interestingly, this hatred is most virulently expressed by a priest (pope in Orthodox religion), in contradiction with the tolerant message of Christ: it shows how widespread these feelings were at the time. The policeman is also strongly prejudiced against these communities, and throws in some misogyny and homophobia for good measure; nevertheless he is persuaded to be on the right side of the law and ethics. Ironically, the Gypsy he is chasing, who for him represents evil, turns out to be friendly, more instructed and moral than he is. Another important topic is justice: at the beginning of the story we think the Gypsy did something terrible to justify such a chase, but it is only adultery; at the end, the punishment is completely disproportionate. We also witness poverty, corruption (the policeman searches for bribes and bribes a colleague), superstition mixed with religious beliefs, education, sexuality, etc. As the director highlighted, many of these themes refer to the present world.WESTERN. The director admits being inspired by old Westerns which partly explains the choice of black and white film: a policeman on a horse, a manhunt, suspense, the theme of good vs evil which actually turns out to be complex, different encounters on the road. It also is an initiation story, as some Westerns are: the son is being trained by his father to become a man, according to his beliefs.PICARESQUE. The movie resurrects the tradition of picaresque novels: main character as anti-hero, succession of small and big adventures, meeting of varied and strong characters, realism, satire, pessimism, pseudo-philosophical speeches, etc. However, it goes further down the road of crudity and cruelty.FANTASY. The movie sometimes drifts to unreal scenes, for instance when the policeman and his son in a dark forest are almost run over by a mysterious carriage going full speed. Or when they discover bodies following a massacre they don't understand. Encounters feel at the same time real and dreamlike: a lonely priest, an illegal fisherman, a wealthy traveller, etc. This reinforces the absurdity and arbitrariness of the world depicted. One of the most successful scenes is the frenetic party at the inn, where alcohol brings all men and women together. In this noisy climax the characters show a more human side, although a simple, vulgar one. We feel people could be happy if oppression were not dominant. But the following morning life goes on as before.In summary, "Aferim!" is compelling, ironical, sometimes humorous and mostly harsh (be warned: the end is extremely violent). The movie efficiently mixes tones: we are sometimes amused, sometimes appalled by characters and situations. Photography and acting are especially impressive. Pace is fully mastered: not too slow to be intriguing, not too fast to be realistic and provide breathing space. Aferim to all the artists who gave us this grand film.

GManfred It is 1835. Constandin and his son are searching for a runaway slave, to be returned to his owner for a reward. Constandin is the local constable and during the journey he is trying to teach his naive, uninterested son what his job entails. Constandin is the protagonist of the piece, and the story is told through his eyes and he is in nearly every scene. His character is the most developed and I felt the son and the slave's personae could have used some padding out. I have never been to Romania and know little of its history. We find that prejudice and racism are endemic in the country at this time, as well as abject poverty and blind ignorance. The screenplay is shot through with these traits and in many ways mirrors the U.S. around the same period. The slave in question is a Gypsy, who apparently were a despised minority and subject to the same indignity and humiliation as minorities in our country were. If we are to believe the screenplay, there was a distinct lack of national moral character and ethical bankruptcy rife in Romania at this time. Constandin, who is the most upright individual we encounter in the film, trying to make a man of his young son, stuns us and hires a whore for him at an overnight stop. He congratulates his son afterwards and continues to impart some of his unique wisdom and worldliness as they continue their travels. Earlier, they come across an Orthodox priest who delivers a comical rant containing all the bigotry and prejudice he can muster, omitting no ethnic group. Do such deeply-held sentiments and moral lapses continue in present-day Romania? The film was shot in black-and-white, although the poster on the website is in color, and is billed as a comedy/western/drama. The latter categories fit better, as there is very little humor to be found. I appreciated the photography which as a reviewer mentioned gives it an authentic look. But "Aferim!" is a bleak and depressing film and ends on a very downbeat note. As such, it does not fall under my definition of entertainment, and I can only recommend it on the basis of its technical accomplishments.

CinemaClown Why the hell is this film in black n white? I don't have any issue with greyscale photography but from the looks of it, Aferim! appears as if a colourless filter was applied to it without any consideration of how to make it look better for the little enhancements that could've turned its images more expressive & attractive are sorely missing.Set in Wallachia in the early 19th century, the story of Aferim! concerns a local policeman & his son who are hired by an Iordache to track down & retrieve one of his slaves who had run away from his estate after having an affair with his wife. The plot follows the journey of this father & son duo during which the former tries to impart some wisdom to the latter.Co-written & directed by Radu Jude, Aferim! addresses the Roma slavery and covers all the absurdities of religion & caste system that only discriminates one from another. Although its subject matter is harsh & affecting, the fine use of wit in conversations between the father & son keep the experience lighthearted for the most part but its final act turns out to be more disturbing than expected.It's quite evident from the background that the locations are beautiful to look at but it would have looked far more appealing if the entire movie was filmed in colour for its black-n-white camera-work only ends up seeping the life out of those images, thus rendering it colourless both literally & figuratively. Performances are quite good, Editing however is lethargic & it's a pain to sit through if the conversations don't work out for you.On an overall scale, Aferim! is driven by its heavily-worded screenplay, brilliant contribution from its leading duo, and its discomforting depiction of a shameful era in Romanian history. Dressed as a western, the film will manage to keep the viewers' interest alive solely on how they react to the father-son conversation which virtually goes on from start to finish. A very strange mix of brutality & hilarity, Aferim! was good for me only during the final 15 minutes.

dromasca What critics and audiences call 'the Romanian New Wave' is not that new any longer. Already in its teens it has focused on the present times, and the recent past of Romania - the last decade of the Communist era and the 'transition' period the country went through after the fall of the Communism. By doing so it neglected a tradition built into the history of the Romanian cinema - the historic movies. The first grand Romanian movie made more than a century ago was already a historic film, bringing back to screen the War of Independence of Romania in 1877 several decades after the event. The genre was taken over and polluted in the Communist period by many films which not only brought on screen heroic episodes and heroes of the Romanian history but also distorted it on the lines of the National-Communist propaganda of the regime. This may be the reason Romanian directors, producers, and audiences as well avoided the genre for a while. It is only in the last few years that historical themes came back to screens in more significant movies - the war period and the Holocaust first. Now 'Aferim!' by Radu Jude goes further back in the past, to the first half of the 19th century. His film (blessed with an important prize at the Berlin Festival early this year) however has also strong and explicit implications in the realities of today's Romania as well.Folks who know the history of Romanian cinema and remember some of the films made decades back will recognize elements of atmosphere and quotes. The 'Eastern' genre which took the structure of the classical American Westerns bringing on screen local characters or even changing the landscape to the fields, forests and mountains of the Romanian countries was popular in the 70s with the 'Haidouk' series but also in the works of Dan Pita (the 'Ardelenii' series). The inspired black and white cinematography credited to Marius Panduru and the very conventional generic that opens the film brought in mind the even older 'Tudor' by Lucian Bratu made in 1962 which dealt with events that took place 14 years before the year 1835 when 'Aferim!' is situated. The violently naturalistic nature of some of the scenes has also its roots in the Romanian literature (Liviu Rebreanu's novels) which were also brought to screen.Yet, this film aims more. The story of the local sheriff (let us use this name for the sake of the international audience) and of his son searching for a fugitive gypsy in the forest and swamps of Wallachia is not just a road movie or an initiation story from the perspective of the young lad destined to inherit the profession of his father. It is a deep and cruel reflection of the prevailing attitude not only of the ruling class but of the whole or great majority of the population of Romania towards other nationalities. The story and the characters come in a frontal manner against deeply rooted stereotypes like the welcoming attitude of Romanians towards strangers or the positive role of the Orthodox church in the moral fiber and education of the masses. It is actually a priest who speaks on screen a tirade full of prejudice against all categories of strangers living or getting in contact with the Romanian at that time - Gypsies of course, but also Jews, Turks, Russians, etc. Folks less familiar with the history of Romania should know that by 1835 Romania was still broken into smaller countries under Turkish, Austrian and Russian rulers - so what is seen on screen has a historical perspective. It is however the relation with the present that comes in mind immediately for those who know history and present. Romania as other East European countries have a big social and ethnic problem with the lack of integration of part of their Roma (gypsy) minorities. The roots of this situation lay to a great extent to the slavery practiced on this minority until mid 19th century. Slavery was abolished (in 1855-1856) but prejudices stay.The merit of Radu Jude is to avoid any excuse or sweetening of the historical facts, while telling a coherent story and creating characters who are not only credible but also memorable. He carefully builds the atmosphere, habits, language of the time in a well documented manner. He is helped by a fine team of actors - Teodor Corban and Mihai Comanoiu as the father and son, Toma Cuzin as the fugitive (would have deserved maybe more screen time to give more complexity to his character), and Alexandru Dabija as the cruel but credible landlord. Two of the best actors of Romania from the older generation Victor Rebengiuc and Luminita Gheorghiu appear in short roles, which shows that even important artists were interested to be part of this cinematographic experience. I feel that 'Aferim!' is a film that was much talked about since its release, and will be even more talked about in the future.