nan | 楠木

This deftly titled Romanian film is not your usual movie fanfare – this is an arthouse film set in the Golden Age of communist-ruled Romania, and is part of a series of films on the era, aptly titled Tales from the Golden Age.

The story is simple. Two female college dorm-mates, Otilia and Gabita, books a hotel room for the day. They call a freelancer to come in and perform abortion on Gabita, who is several months pregnant. The film revolves around this central event (with some other sidelines, such as Otilia’s relationship with her boyfriend), and is an insightful depiction of life in the 80s in Romania.

Life under an conservative authoritarian rule (abortion was illegal at the time) should be the overarching theme, but the film does not choose to directly tackle this subject. Instead, it remains subtly in the background, but its presence is unmistakable. As a Chinese audience, there were traits of a socialist central-planned economy/society that were easily identifiable, such as the general lack of goods, the limit of free speech, the ever-felt presence of the regime etc. It is very similar to China pre-90s, and in this way it was very easy to identify with the film’s theme.

The film features a well-paced narrative, and a very subjective cinematography – the angle and movement of the camera constantly makes you feel that you’re there during those events, and you’re made aware of the things that are happening outside the frame which are just as important to the story as those that are actually shown to you. This induces an overall much more intimate viewing experience. Great film.

8/10