Kontinental ’25, 2025.
Directed by Radu Jude.
Starring Eszter Tompa, Gabriel Spahiou, Adonis Tanta, and Serban Pavlu.
SYNOPSIS:
Orsolya is a bailiff in Cluj, the capital city of Transylvania. One day she must evict a homeless man who lives in the basement of a building. An unexpected event creates a moral crisis she tries to solve as best she can.
Ambitious in small-scale yet drawn out in several consecutive conversations that start increasingly compelling and more layered before doing a 180, with Romanian writer/director Radu Jude coming across as if he is finding new characters for his protagonist to talk to to extend the length of Kontinental ’25 for no real reason other than that he loves indulging in dialogue. In his defense, while those conversations are shot through static photography on an iPhone (courtesy of DP Ciresica Cuciuc), it is impressive how much hustle and bustle is on display in the background of Transylvania, with its identity and connection to Romania also serving as a focal point to some of the film’s bigger ideas.
Far more intriguing is how the film begins and then seamlessly transitions into a change of perspective. Following around the unhoused Ion (Gabriel Spahiu), a former athlete who lost everything by becoming addicted to drugs and other vices, it’s a painfully humanistic portrait of the everyday degradation he endures in hopes of some small currency before returning to squatting in his evicted previous place of residence. In typical Radu Jude fashion, he skillfully weaves in bits of dry humor regarding his situation without ever losing sight of the fact that what we are observing is objectively said and that no one should be subjected to such living conditions.
When well-meaning bailiff Orsolya (Eszter Tompa) makes a visit to plead that he swallow some pride and enter a shelter for the unhoused, all seems to be going better-than-expected before tragedy strikes. It traumatizes Orsolya (a believably so, depressed, and guilt-ridden Eszter Tompa) so deeply that the film shifts to her perspective as she processes it. This includes canceling a vacation to Greece with her family (they go alone) and recounting the events that she saw in a rattled manner to anyone who will listen.
These conversations come to involve anyone and everyone, including coworkers, her mother, and even a former college student (and more), each getting into a different topic, whether it be the unhoused crisis, if Orsolya could have done more, current events, and Romania’s takeover of Transylvania. Naturally, there aren’t many answers here, which is the point, as it’s more about her trying to move on while also questioning the validity and purpose of her job (she wants to donate money to certain political causes, but only online, fearing that there will be backlash if anyone sees her face online).
No one can accuse Radu Jude of losing interest through his writing (there is also more bleak, dry humor throughout), but around halfway through, Kontinental ’25 loses its air, meanders, and rambles as if the screenplay was written in a flurry. For as well composed as these images are, it’s also a tough ask for viewers to observe numerous unbroken shots of dialogue that are dynamic in the background but flat in the foreground. Bluntly, it deflates the longer it goes on. Here’s hoping his upcoming three-hour AI takedown, Dracula (which utilizes several of the same cast members and below-the-line crew), is more precise and doesn’t start from a place of pointedness before stumbling into nothingness.
Tickets for Kontinental ’25 can be purchased here, and Dracula tickets can be purchased here.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
