‘Aferim! - Radu Jude’

In 19th century Romania, Costandin (50), a policeman of the time, and his son Ionita (15) travel through the south of the country in search of a fugitive Gypsy slave. Costandin is a charismatic mixture between a funny Stalin and a somewhat more pragmatic Don Quixote. While Ionita seems to be quite the opposite: more like Dostoyevsky’s ”Idiot”, finding himself in the unfortunate situation of having to settle his inner turmoil while riding, holding a sword or a gun. Their road speedily winds through exotic landscapes and meeting hundreds of secondary characters, rendering a surprise in every scene. All of this is pictured with infectious humor and stirring cynicism, while keeping the authenticity of the age, in an ingenious Western in a very wild East never yet captured on film.