Films and Showtimes

Graduation (In Translation Series)

• Starring: Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Lia Bugnar
• Director: Cristian Mungiu
• Genre(s): Drama, Crime
• Language(s): Romanian
• Rating: R
• Running Time: 128 min.

This film is part of our In Translation series of recent foreign language films of note.

Original Title: Bacalaureat
Film Synopsis: Romeo Aldea (Adrian Titieni) is a seemingly honest doctor who regrets having settled in his native Romania, a country still teeming with corruption and back dealings. He channels his ambitions for a better life into his teenage daughter, Eliza (Maria Dragus), who’s just one exam away from securing a scholarship to a prestigious British university. But when Eliza is attacked on the eve of her test, endangering her ability to pass, Romeo takes matters into his own hands to ensure her success. [Sundance Selects]

"A thoroughgoing masterpiece which offers proof that Romania's cinematic upsurge remains the most vital and important national film movement of the current century."

"While it is shot in near-documentary form amid authentically grim locales, the movie is an exquisitely plotted, jarringly presented moral puzzle."

"The acting is outstanding; Mungiu's straightforward dialogue and naturalistic shooting make for a movie that feels genuine, with no false steps."

"It's consistently absorbing and well-acted, and Mungiu's camera makes even simple police station interrogations or drive-around sequences unassuming things of beauty."

"In Graduation, Mungiu takes a scalpel and dissects life in modern Romania."

"Bleak, naturalistic and flawlessly acted, "Graduation" distills the mood and moral decay of a place whose gray skies and nondescript housing blocks feel like permanent reminders of its dark history."

"The power of the film is cumulative, as the filmmaker spins a mesmerizing morality tale from the dross of daily life. In his skillful hands, the ordinary turns out to be anything but."