Radu Jude’s “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World” is a Romanian feature film replete with satire, a full panoply of Romanian music and implicit comparisons of modern Romania to Ceausescu’s communist Romania.
Angela (Ilinca Manoache) is a production assistant for a Romanian film production company in Bucharest specializing in “corporate films”. In this case an Austrian company producing a film on worker safety. Angela rushes around in a fury in her Renault (not a Dacia!) through Bucharest and its suburbs interviewing a handful of victims of industrial accidents to select the “perfect victim” for the corporate safety film. It is clear the life of a Romanian worker is cheap particularly when injured a guilty employer does everything to avoid a payout. In the cutting conclusion of the film the modern employee safety film is no different than the communist propaganda films often blaming the worker for his injuries as after all the state was the only employer. Poor worker Ovidiu injured in an industrial accident is selected and in numerous takes an honest recounting of his accident is neutered to a bland and simplistic message stripped of honesty and whatever the final message will be is in the hands of Vienna. Ovidiu, and for that matter, Romania has been reduced to a dupe.
Interposed in the film is a 1981 Romanian vintage film from Lucian Bratu’s “Angela Moves On” depicting the life of a female taxi driver in Ceausescu’s communist Romania. The clips from that film are in colour while the film is black and white in “Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World”. 1981 Bucharest was much quieter and slow paced in comparison to the horribly congested Bucharest of today. Sexism and inequality certainly have survived the demise of Romanian communism. Angela’s existence and mission also clearly shout that the proletarian masses of Romania today are scarcely better off materially than those of Ceausescu’s Romania. While the corruption of communists Romania was largely within the communist party it is riddled throughout society in modern Romania. Moral corruption in modern Romania is highlighted by sexual deviant Bobiţă spewing misogynist drivel in a desperate attempt to obtain TikTok fame.
Perhaps one day I will recount my story of my trip with a Romanian truck driver delivering a truckload of eggs to Cairo. He helped himself to a few! Screw those who screw you.
The exploitation of Romania continues in the film this time from Austria. One is left contemplating what has truly changed in modern day Romania from the Ceausescu days? The taxi driver’s life in the 1981 film “Angela Moves On” is not that different from the modern-day Angela except the exploitation in the 1981 film is unspoken and not reflected in the story line and on film. It is staring you in face with what Angela must endure.
An exhausting film close to three hours in length. After roaring around with Angela working to point of exhaustion and self harm one can’t but reflect on the simpler and quieter days of communist Romania.
Who could ever play the role of Angela as Manoloche does here? Superb and immeasurably frantic and in the filth pits of degeneracy also playing Bobiţă discrediting the idiocy and shallowness of much of social media.
Opens in theatres in Canada on 19April2024.
You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/913745105
RKS 2024 Film Rating 94/100.
Set the Bar 