Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World

Absolute film. This stunning protagonist takes us to inside the car and also into the reality of the romenian proletariat. Her daily vlogs as a man character on social media's make criticism uncomfortably funny.

Flashes of "Angela goes on" sometimes fit perfectly with romenians women's nowadays issues, especially as a car driver. On the other hand, at other times, it highlights the aberrant contrast behind different eras: "it's later than you think".

Personally, as a third world citizen, this universal theme brought up by the film touches me deeply. Government corruption, nonsense ideological fanaticism among people, and our impotence in the face of all of this.

Uncomfortable until the end and necessary.

Wow. I just finished watching this film and could not get enough. It is a slow burn to start off but as I watched I found myself getting pulled in. This is the story of an overworked woman, who travels from place to place capturing videos of the survivors of nearby, workplace accidents. The most compelling story awards the family a cash prize and commercial spot about workplace safety. In the end, the participants and the rigors of the process are skewered answering questions about capitalism, voyuerism, status, and the results of hardwork. The main character is an endurance champion. The writer and director brought to my mind Proust, capturing the day to day human condition in such a realistic way. I did not want this movie to end. Hopefully there's a 5 hour directors cut out there.

Radu Jude's Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World is a blistering indictment of modern capitalism, disguised as a workplace comedy. The film follows an overworked production assistant tasked with creating a safety video for a multinational corporation, only to have the project derailed by a whistleblower's exposé.

What follows is a chaotic, darkly humorous descent into the heart of corporate greed and societal indifference. Jude's film is a masterclass in satire, using absurd situations and deadpan delivery to expose the systemic failures that underpin our world. The pacing is relentless, mirroring the frenetic pace of modern life, and the performances are uniformly excellent.

While the film's runtime is lengthy, it never feels indulgent. Every scene serves a purpose, contributing to the overall message. It's a challenging watch, but a deeply rewarding one. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World is essential viewing for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of contemporary society.

Angela, the overworked and underpaid production assistant, drives through chaotic Bucharest, trying to film castings for a commercial. Completely stressed out and exhausted, she desperately seeks a few minutes of peace, but her boss keeps calling, telling her to drink a strong coffee or a Red Bull and to keep working. The ringtone on Angela's phone when work calls is "Ode to Joy" - the EU anthem.

A film that couldn't be more cynical. It's an authentic critique of society and capitalism, wrapped in bold, crude situational humor. The West-especially Austria, the country that in recent years blocked Romania from joining the Schengen Area-is constantly ridiculed.

It's not common to see a Romanian film that is so critical of the present, as most tend to condemn the past under Ceausescu and embrace capitalism without much questioning. Radu Jude shows that those days are likely over, as things haven't improved much for Romanians. Quite the opposite. Nature is being destroyed for private companies, cities are drowning in traffic, intellectuals are leaving the country, and poverty is everywhere.

This dark comedy is, for me, a highlight of the year. It makes you think, but most of all, it makes you laugh out loud.

After deducting one star for over-the-top vulgarity, much of that from protagonist Angela's TikTok alter ego Bobita; and one more star for being way too long; this left eight stars to work with, and the film earned them all. My first impression of Angela was dim, but she was just a tough, bright cookie doing her own thing - mostly driving, apparently -- in rough circumstances. Terrific acting.

Can't say how well the "movie within a movie" device worked. I understand it was to provide both contrast and context, but after awhile it became intrusive and repetitive, like prolonged scenes of Angela's gum-chewing during relentless drives, and a wholly gratuitous sequence of highway fatality crosses. The scene at the end filming Ovidiu and his family is especially sharp, with quite a few lessons hidden in there.

Not exactly sure why, but the film overall reminded me of Fellini's Nights of Cabiria ... not for any obvious reasons, but a similar tone.

The ending was abrupt but appropriate and satisfying. Closing credits are wacky, not something I often see. Major credit too goes to whomever did the English subtitles: they were spot-on, very nuanced.

Not too sure about how it makes Bucharest look, though.