The wait for a new Cristian Mungiu feature sure isn’t short––between 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days he’s averaging about one every five years––but nobody, as scores of imitators come and go, evince the exact combination of patience and opulence that define even his lesser films. By most accounts R.M.N. deserves its lineage, per Mungiu intertwining an ominous narrative with ambiguous resolution, all the while carried by stunning images.
Some of which are on display in a trailer for the film, which IFC will release April 28. As Rory O’Connor said out of Cannes (where he also spoke with the director), “Mungiu has a knack for expressing major societal issues in subtle moments. Anyone who saw 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days will never forget the look on Otilia’s face as she sat at that dinner table, listening to innocuous chit-chat while her friend lay suffering in a seedy hotel room on the other side of town. R.M.N, a film that is more maximal by design, can’t boast that same sense of economy, yet its dizzying culmination of ideas proves more feature than bug.”
Find preview and poster below:
A few days before Christmas, having quit his job in Germany, Matthias returns to his multi-ethnic Transylvanian village. He wishes to involve himself more in the education of his son, Rudi, left for too long in the care of his mother, Ana, and to rid the boy of the unresolved fears that have taken hold of him. He’s preoccupied with his old father, Otto and also eager to see his ex-lover, Csilla. When a few new workers are hired at the small factory that Csilla manages, the peace of the community is disturbed, underlying fears grip the adults, and frustrations, conflicts and passions erupt through the thin veneer of apparent understanding and calm.
