A Romanian comedy-drama, set in a small village in 1953, about a young couple about to get married. Guests arrive, the banquet is ready and everything is prepared for the ceremony.
Then, the Russian army announce the death of Stalin. One week of national mourning must take place, effectively immediately. The wedding and the party are forbidden, but they decide to celebrate it anyway... just silently.
I apologise, we feel bad, but there's no trailer available. ~Ed.
What starts off as a bawdy comedy with plenty of surreal touches eventually morphs into a statement about both totalitarian government oppression and the spirit of the everyday people who lived through such trying circumstances. You’d be right to think that these two aspects aren’t the most obvious aspects to mesh together on screen but the contrast and sudden shift is the point of the film. This is a successful approach for getting across its themes about the struggle of humanity, less so for shaping an engaging story.
There’s a lot of great content packed into the running time – genuinely funny low-brow humour, rustic and picturesque settings, carnivalesque production design as well as the bittersweet but life-affirming event described in the title.
Unfortunately the build-up to the wedding itself is long and deliberate, with some scenes dragging out for longer than necessary and disengaging the viewer. Thankfully, the great wedding scene itself gets across its powerful political message in a surprisingly upbeat, poetic fashion.
By Andreas Heinemann, Flicks.co.nz
The goofy and the grim in a single polished package.
Morally simplistic but highly accessible, with its ingenious "silent wedding" centerpiece...
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 11th Feb 2010.
Release date: February 11th 2010.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
