SYNOPSICS
Niki Ardelean, colonel în rezerva (2003) is a Romanian movie. Lucian Pintilie has directed this movie. Victor Rebengiuc,Razvan Vasilescu,Coca Bloos,Mihaela Caracas are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2003. Niki Ardelean, colonel în rezerva (2003) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
The hero is a retired army officer in the period of transition in Romania from the Communist rule to democracy. As many aged people during these times he loses a lot in position and material situation and is too aged to adapt and start building something from zero. His last resort is the family, but his home and family is also slowly decomposing under the pressure of the times. His elder son dies in a stupid home accident (the film starts with his funeral), than his only other child, a daughter moves to America in the search of a better material life. His life seems to fall under the control of his in-law, a mercantile and much better adapted man, who slowly seems to deprive him not only of his children, but also of his pride and human dignity. The violent end is unexpected, although typical for the Pintilie's movies, but if you look back and reflect on what you've seen on screen, everything before was a logical building of the end.
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Niki Ardelean, colonel în rezerva (2003) Reviews
Valuable piece of art
Certainly, mister Pintilie has his little "things" that could bother (like unnecessary nudity), but they are worth overlooking. I, at the very opposite end of the previous commenter, enjoyed the movie a lot, and see no reason why a personal dislike such as the one offered above should be the only comment, so... here goes: The plot unfolds quite clearly, in my opinion, as the movie begins with one of the Ardelean children (Mihai) dieing an absurd death. The burial ritual is constantly perturbed by the odd future in-law Florian, and this in only the beginning. As the movie carries on, we see how gradually everything is taken away from Niki by his opponent, Flo: his other daughter (married to Flo's son) - including the right to see her off to the airport, the Easter holidays, the right to argue on different political matters, the furniture, his daughter's wedding, and in the end his dignity (as the poster should very well indicate). True enough, all this is done quite subtly, and to an impatient person it might seem unsubstantial or otherwise boring. But if you care about seeing something very human and quite deep, do watch this movie closely. And in the end, Niki does get revenge! ;)
Pintilie at his best
"Nicky Ardelean - retired colonel" is perhaps one of the best movies that Pintilie had ever made. He brilliantly succeeds to dissect the Romanian realities with a pinching and malicious sense of humor. Perhaps not an easy movie, coming from an uneasy director, but a must see for movie lovers.
A history of romanian modern society in just two hours
When i first saw this film,I laughed at the end.Then I started thinking,and thinking,and thinking...And what I realised was that i was in front of a masterpiece,a masterpiece about life,about the confrontation between the new and the old in Romania.The slow alienation of Niki is the slow madness we all sink in when we see our world turned upside down.This "brave new world" we all live in is nothing but a shallow image without any values or guidelines.Flo is the perfect representant of this pseudointelectual society and at the end,I think everybody who sees the film considers Niki's action justified.It seems one can only resolve his problems through violence nowadays.
revolt against control
Director Lucian Pintilie's film describes the revolt of a simple man against the forces that take control on his life. The hero is a retired army officer in the period of transition of Romani from the Communist rule to democracy. As many aged people during these times he loses a lot in position and material situation, and is too aged to adapt and start building something from zero. His last resort is the family, but his home and family is also slowly decomposing under the pressure of the times. His elder son dies in a stupid home accident (the film starts with his funeral), than his only other child, a daughter moves to America in the search of a better material life. His life seems to fall under the control of his in-law, a mercantile and much better adapted man, who slowly seems to deprive him not only of his children, but also of his pride and human dignity. The violent end is unexpected, although typical for the Pintilie's movies, but if you look back and reflect on what you've seen on screen, everything before was a logical building of the end. Victor Rebengiuc is magnificent in the lead role. It's not the best movie of Pintilie but it's a film not to miss.
an excellent life movie
I can't understand why so many "movie lovers" (especially that they are from Romania) have such a negative perspective in front of this film. It was just a life movie and from my point of view I recognized a lot of people who are next to me every day in that characters. It's a great movie, believe me, but you have to see what's at the back of it. Of course, it's neither for that people who are Rambo lovers nor Spiderman :)). Maybe, for a foreigner means nothing, but for us who live in this country it represents more than pure reality.In conclusion, i think that is the best Romanian drama i saw after the revolution from 89.Lough and cry in the same time.