Popular reviews

• 

  Review by davidehrlich ★★★★

  Chekhov’s gun has seldom fallen into hands as steady and menacing hands as in Cristian Mungiu’s poorly titled, expertly staged “R.M.N.,” which finds the elite Romanian auteur extrapolating the personal tensions that gripped his previous work (e.g., “Beyond the Hills” and the Palme d’Or-winning “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days”) across an entire Transylvanian village. The result is a socioeconomic crucible that carefully shifts its weight to the same foot that Mungiu always loves to rest on your throat; a slightly over-broad story of timeless xenophobia baked full of local flavor and set right on the cusp of a specific moment in the 21st century.

  The film begins far away from the snowy hamlet where most of it takes…

• 

  Review by shookone ★★★★½ 7

  another wonderfully tactful panopticon of the (eastern) european society by Mungiu. the ocean of characters, words, sceneries let a topic hard to tackle with the means of cinema get to life, without falling out of subtlety.

  parenthetically he creates one of the most horrific male protagonists I've seen in recent years, and has with Judith State and especially Macrina Barladeanu two mesmerising actresses by his side making this baby another sweet entry of the not-so-new-anymore Romanian wave.

• 

  Review by Matt Neglia ★★★★

  R.M.N. is Cristian Mungiu’s patient & disturbing examination of rising tensions & anxieties in a xenophobic Transylvanian village. Bleak cinematography with many unforgettable shots including a 17 minute long unbroken scene at a town hall meeting where the film’s themes finally crystallize in a simmering combustion of anger, frustration, fear & hatred. It took a bit to get going and I’m not sure everything coalesces as Mungiu suspects between Matthias‘ journey and the journey of the community. Still, it has one of the best third acts of the year with a final shot that knocked me on my ass. Will probably be thinking about this one for quite some time.

• 

  Review by Frances Meh ★★★★ 6

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

• 

  Review by Sean Fennessey 7

  One of the better endings in recent movie history.

• 

  Review by ImmigrantFilm ★★★★★ 5

  5.0/5.0 = Life Changing

  seen at Cannes 2022

  One day I'll look back on my life and separate my memories as "before R.M.N." and "after R.M.N.". I don't say this lightly: This film changed my life.

  I've wanted to be a filmmaker for as long as I can remember. I moved from Romania to California in 2012 to study filmmaking. I got my bachelor's degree in 2016 and my master's in 2020. In 2018 I was fortunate enough to become Cristian Mungiu's mentee during a summer workshop, and he has become a true friend over the years.

  In 2021, Cristian had eviscerated the fifth screenplay my brother and I presented to him, at which point he nudged us to try…

• 

  Review by nick ★★★ 10

  R.M.N is for me Cristian Mungiu's career worst. It's unfathomable how an auteur so versed in telling naturalistic stories ends up with such a superficial, symbol-filled tale that ultimately makes no sense. The message is loud and clear, but Mungiu's just miles better than this.

  In R.M.N, a small Romanian town becomes the heated battleground for racism, xenophobia and toxic masculinity. The potential is huge but ultimately wasted. With the racial tensions at the center of this intense thriller, it all culminates in a one-shot debate scene that many praise, but for me is as insignificant as your everyday political Twitter discourses.

  With the punchline of the story being as muted as it is, the 2-hour journey is fairly entertaining…

• 

  Review by Kevflix And Chill ★★★½

  I only recently saw Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 weeks, 2 days, but I really loved what he accomplished with that film. Set in Romania, utilizing several long takes, 4M3W2D tells a moving story that also highlights an important social issue.  In some ways, R.M.N. Is very similar Set in small village in Transylvania Tackles, a local bakery has hired 3 Sri Lankan workers and this ripple causes a xenophobic wave to wash over the small village.  The members of the catholic church urge the reverend to talk to the bakery owners to kick the workers out.  Townspeople begin refusing to buy bread knowing that it was made with the hands of these Sri Lankans and it all culminates in this town hall where the…

• 

  Review by poppyaoh ★★★★

  God Europe is complicated

• 

  Review by Stringer Bell ★★★★★ 30

  The smartest film of the year from one of the best "hidden gem" directors working in the industry right now is also a film only 35 people on my follow list have logged.
  A film festival sleeper hit, R.M.N has now firmly taken a spot in my top 3 favorite films of 2023.
  Mungiu, the master of the Romanian New Wave Cinema, has never made a bad film. If he has, I haven't seen it.
  Absolutely wild to me that this film exists and isn't getting the same hype and attention as ANATOMY OF A FALL. Since Triet's film won't be submitted for the Oscars, I can only hope the Academy remembers this in time for the nominations. They seem…

• 

  Review by DallasFrance ★★★★★ 8

  Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu doesn’t make thrillers: his films involve ordinary, flawed people at a moral crossroads. Sometimes, like in the case of films like 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, the endings are explosive. The journeys, however, are more dialogue-heavy than action-driven, more disconcerting than frightening. 

  That being said, Mungiu’s films are never boring. He pushes his characters into perilous situations that often reveal the ugliness of individuals and larger social institutions. It sounds bleak, but it’s hard to be brought down by filmmaking this good. 

  R. M. N. deals with heady issues like xenophobia, labor conditions, and toxic masculinity, but it’s more observational than pedantic. It includes a lengthy town hall meeting scene so well staged and acted…

• 

  Review by notscotthenson ★★★

  R.M.N.? More like Refund Me Now. Disappointing, unfocussed outing from a director I love. The movie is about family dynamics and then not about family dynamics, is not about racism and then is REALLY about racism and then not again, and then is about bears. 

  And a movie that takes place in Transylvania with no vampires? Or even any trans people? Get outta here.