Mitu and Elena get to know each other in the course of a vodka drinking contest and discover that they are both dissatisfied with the status quo. Mitu is about to begin military service and Elena is to be married to a man she does not love. They decide they are meant for each other and plan on a different future, one that is on a collision course with the authorities, and start a mad affair.
Direction
Pintilie's controlled chaos—every frame drips with Romanian absurdism.
Acting
Cașcaval and Chiriac sell desperate romance with zero Hollywood polish.
Writing
Dialogue so sharp it cuts through communist-era decay.
Director
Lucian Pintilie
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in 1997 Bucharest, the film captures Romania's raw post-revolution hangover—literally crumbling buildings and institutional rot on full display.
The vodka contest scene was largely improvised; Pintilie wanted genuine drunkenness to blur the line between performance and reality.
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