User reviews

Usually, Romanian comedies are not funny. We Romanians have a great sense of humor, but the problem is our movies don't. Surprisingly, this film is deliriously funny at times; on the other hand, it's not just a comedy, it also has black moments, when the laughter dies and it dawns on you maybe it's not a comedy at all. One of the only few Romanian movies I'd recommend without hesitation, for example as opposed to other generally well-rated "comedies" like "Operatiunea Monstrul". Dem Radulescu and Sebastian Papaiani, but not only them, are really great and prove they are great actors who were just so unfortunate as to live in a bad movies country.

This is probably one of the best comedies of the golden age of Romanian cinema with Dem Radulescu at the top of his form, a good script and the funniest dialogues. However, you have to speak Romanian to fully taste this piece of work.

The movie presents in a very dynamic and unpredictable way the adventures of 2 swindles : a mentor and his disciple. They are playing with human naivety and feelings, a flavored subject that never dies, even the social habits and customs change over the years. The action is spiced up by the atmosphere of Romanian lifestyle in times of communism (early 70's). But the great value of the movie is given by the brilliant lines and the incredible acting of remarkable Romanian comedians such as: Dem Radulescu, Vasilica Tastaman, Sebastian Papaiani and the others in the casting list. Dem Radulescu is a reference in Romanian comedy act and this role fits him perfectly in this particular movie. My favorite scene is the one near Vasilica Tastaman. I recommend this movie and I cherish it because it always succeeds to make me laugh and forget my problems, no matter how often I see it. Enjoy it if you decided to watch it!