inesfa A man asks his neighbour to go and look for a treasure that his grand father would have hidden. They look for it. Thats basically the argument of the film, no more. And I won't be the one critizising a film just for being simple, there are many great simple films... but not this one. It was just not interesting. It was boring. And it was suposed to be a comedy (somehow), but I couldn't find any trace of comedy... I really wanted to like it, and I really thought I would, but nope.

Andres Salama This Romanian movie has a plot that might sounds ridiculous at first sight, but with time becomes more and more engaging. The movie starts with one of the two protagonists, Costi (Toma Cuzin) telling his young child the story of Robin Hood. Suddenly, there is a knock in the door. It's his neighbor, Adrian (the other protagonist of the movie, played by Adrian Purcarescu). He tells Costi he is risking losing his apartment as he is late on his mortgage payments, so could he please lend him 800 Euros. Costi tells Adrian he sympathizes with him, but can't lend him anything as he is under heavy money problems himself. Eventually, after a long talk, Adrian tells Costi what he needs the 800 Euros for: he wants to hire a metal detector operator so as to see if in the garden of an old property of his family there might be a treasure buried by his grandfather when the communists took over Romania. At least that is what the family legend says, but no one is really sure there is really a treasure buried in his property. After some hesitation, Costi agrees to help Adrian on that search in exchange of a half of the prize.So the rest of the movie is basically Costi and Adrian pursuing this treasure, with the help at times of an old, slightly corrupt metal detector operator (played by a real professional in that job). This being a Romanian movie, the film is slow, deadpan, and deals quite a lot in bureaucratic detail (Romanian law states that any treasure holding historical value should go to the state, and the discoverers should only get a 30% of it, and Costi and Adrian try during the movie several times to see how to get around that law). Considering Romanian movies have some reputation for dourness, I thought this was going to end in tears, but it happily has (without obviously revealing too much about it) a very satisfying ending.

GManfred Hard to tell what to make of "The Treasure". It was worthwhile and it was mildly entertaining. It was about just what the synopsis describes; two guys hire another guy who owns a metal detector to try to find 'treasure' they think is on the grounds of the estate of the great-grandfather of one of them. Turns out it was deeper than they thought, which adds digging time and running time to the picture.Eventually, they find it, but it's not treasure in the normal sense; it is a box of old stock certificates for Mercedes-Benz, which are now worth a fortune. There is a sweet moment at the end, as one of the men has a young son who was excited by the thought of treasure. Instead of showing him a stack of paper stocks, he cashes his half and buys some jewelry to fill the box, and gives it to the boy, who is overwhelmed at the sight. Of course, the jewelry is worth only a fraction of what the man has grossed for the stocks. Well, there you have it. I would say it's interesting, although not really a comedy, as it is billed. If it is, I would say the Romanian sense of humor is extremely subtle. Maybe a human interest story, as it holds the interest and is mercifully short at 89 minutes. There are no emotional highs or lows and no tension or suspense; for lack of a better term, it is a very calm picture. The cast were all very competent, no complaint there. It could have a little added excitement of some sort, but if you are thinking of seeing it you could do a lot worse nowadays. Speaking for myself, I liked it because it was simple and straightforward and held my interest. If you go, stay for the credits and you can hear one of the strangest songs ever, by one of the strangest voices; it's called "Life Is Life". Very peculiar.

Soul Killer I watched this movie during the TIFF festival in Timisoara and I wanted my money back, but since the entrance was free, I want my time back.The plot could have been easily narrated in a 5 or 10 minute short. It contained many scenes that were stretched for no reason or dialogue that was totally irrelevant to the main theme. Almost all actors (especially the ones in supporting roles) were lacking acting skills. There isn't any climax/peak, but only an enumeration of events that naturally derive from one to another like a very slow flowing river. No action, no suspense and definitely NO comedy. Maybe the only good parts that made sit down and watch it until the end was the general Romanian feeling this movie had (with traditions, idioms which cannot really be translated and so on) and the hope that some turn of events will make this movie great or at least interesting, but sadly it didn't.I can't believe this movie got two awards and two nominations, since it was one of the most boring movies I ever saw.