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R.M.N. is a tremendously gripping drama from Romania about
the cataclysmic changes Europe is currently going through, and the tensions that
are arising as more immigrants enter countries that were formerly dominated by
one race or culture. The film finished a successful run at the Gene Siskel
Center, and it is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube,
Google Play, and Vudu.
It compares well with and might actually surpass such other fine films about
immigration as: In America (2002), The Namesake (2006), The Visitor (2007),
Minari
(2020),
and Brooklyn, (although this film has better acting.)
The acronym R.M.N. is the Romanian translation of "MRI",
the common medical machine which takes deep images of the human body-often in
usage for brain scans. In the film is an analysis of an organ
done with a laser tool which is used to find spreading cancer in a Romanian man.
This ties to the film’s central theme because the movie deals with bigotry and
intolerance which is spreading through European society like cancer. I saw some
of this firsthand in real life when I heard an Italian from my family’s hometown
responding to the prospect of increased immigration by casually saying: “what
might be needed is a little soft fascism. “
R.M.N. was made by Cristian Mungiu, one of the most acclaimed film makers in
Europe. He is a favorite at Cannes Film Festival, and many of his films won
prestigious awards there. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu won Un Certain Regard in
2005, Beyond the Hills won best actress and best screenplay in 2012, Graduation
won the Best Director Award, and most impressively, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and Two
Days earned the highest award there, the Palme d’ or in 2007.
Mungiu is generally considered to be the finest and most successful proponents
of the Romanian New Wave which has many elements in common with the Italian Neo
Realist films of the 40’s and 50’s. Both movements were socially realistic and
often minimalist in nature. Like the Italian Neorealist Films, Romanian New
Wave films often take the viewpoint of the poor and marginalized factions of
society, so they also share some traits in common with Stanley Kramer’s topical
films. Mingiu has said in interviews that one of his favorite films is Vittorio
De Sica’s "Bicycle Thieves" (1948) and the influence is evident.
R.M.N takes place in the very specific setting of a polarized region of
Transylvania. But with its depiction of a fragmented society divided by ethnic
and religious barriers, it is like a microcosm of much of Europe and in many
ways the current
U.S.A.
The film begins with a little boy named Rudi (Mark Blenyesi) who walks home and
is horrified by a sight that he sees off screen and as a result he completely
stops talking. Later Matthias (Marin Grigore) head butts his boss for calling
him a lazy gypsy at his job and he flees to his Transylvanian hometown, and he
demands to get visitation back to see his son who turns out to be the troubled
Rudi.
Mathias is a complex, cynical, and only partially sympathetic character. He is
descended from the Romani (formerly called gypsies) and is often confronted with
racist slurs, but he also delivers some himself. Our sympathy for him is
undermined because he treats women terribly and gives his son stern,
dehumanizingly negative advice like, “You must not feel pity. Those who feel
pity die first.”
Csilla, is the ex-lover that Matthias begins sleeping with again. She co-runs a
bakery, and she needs to fill a certain amount of positions in order to qualify
for an EU grant. The Hungarian born Csilla is the most likeable character in the
film is like an oasis of culture in the desert of her impoverished
anti-intellectual town. She parades around her apartment and sips wine while
playing “Yumi’s Theme” on her violin from In the Mood for Love, a film which
might have inspired the minimalist realism of this film.
She hires five immigrant workers that will work for wages so low that no locals
will take the minimum wage positions. The men’s arrival inspires racist
indignation and some locals say they will not buy bread made by “diseased
immigrants,” and they begin a boycott of the bakery.
In addition, there is a more radical nationalist/racist faction of townspeople
that begin marching at parades. They seem like a combination of the American KKK
and survivalists who dress in bear skins and helmets. They think of themselves
as a revival of Dacia, a regional tribe famous for their courage and savagery in
repelling the Romans, and they believe the Romans were actually the ancestors of
modern Romanians in that region. This crackpot view of history contrasts with
the more accepted view that the area was merely a colony of Rome. The group
(which is real) wants to restore classic monoculture Romania. I almost expected
of them to say: “Make Transylvania great again.”
There is a great scene in the TV series, "Who is America?" in which Sacha Baron
Cohen holds a town meeting and tries to sell a really racist community on the
idea of building a mega mosque which outrages the townspeople who aren’t in on
the joke. Although it is played for laughs the scene electrically captures a
volcano of erupting ethnic tension.
There is a similar but more serious scene in R.M.N. which is a 17-minute-long
continuous take that includes 26 different characters spewing vitriol at a town
meeting. The scene has the appearance of hard-hitting reality, and it may be the
best extended sequence I have seen in a film all year.
Although the R.M.N. takes place in Europe, it is more relevant to the current
situation in the USA than any recent American film I have seen. When the
Romanian townspeople refer to the immigrants as “viruses,” they are using
using words to reduce people to less than human. They have the
same xenophobic tone expressed in Trump speeches about
“infestations of immigrants swarming,” likening them to vermin. The scene also reminded me of a speech in which the former of
Italy prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi who promised that he would stop
the “infestations of immigrants.”
This week as we cross the halfway point of 2023, R.M.N. stands out as the most
timely, powerful, and absorbing film I have seen so far this year. Anyone who
cares about international affairs or the changing complexions of today’s
countries should make every effort to view it preferably on a big screen so they
can appreciate the often painterly cinematography.
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Written & Directed by:
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Cristian Mungiu |
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Starring:
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Marin Grigore, Judith State, Macrina Barladeanu,
Orsoloya Moldovan |
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Released: |
04/14/23 (USA-wide) |
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Rating:
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Unrated with nudity and violence |
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Available On:
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At press time the film was Available for
streaming
on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, and
Vudu. Also playing in some local theaters
In Romanian, Hungarian, German, and French
with English subtitles |
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For more
writings by Vittorio Carli go to
www.artinterviews.org and
www.chicagopoetry.org.
His latest book "Tape Worm Salad with Olive Oil for Extra Flavor" is also
available.
Come to the next session of the Monthly Poetry Show on July 8 at Tangible Books in Bridgeport from 7:00pm-9:00pm at 3324 South Halsted.
Hosted by Vittorio Carli.
Special features will include Bob Lawrence, Clair “Fluff” Llewellyn, Peter Pero,
Ivan Ramos and Nicholas Michael Ravnikar. |
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R.M.N.
© 2023 Mobra
Films
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2023 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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