Tatal fantoma (2011) Reviews

• One of the best movies of the century

  enriquefynn2011-06-15

  Amazing... I watched this movie in TIFF (Transilvania International Film Festival), the script is amazing, the actor playing the main role is more than exceptional, he is just splendid, one of the best movies of my life, there is a realistic part in the beginning and then it becomes fantastical and magical, this is a very good movie, you'll not regret watching it. They show Romania in a very special way, full of amazing places and problems, corruption, and the movie is such an adventure in the lands of fantasy, with a script that is itself a complete good novel, pretty much all the actors are giving themselves for the characters, at one point that you don't really realize witch one is real, or fantastical, such a good movie, just watch it with an open mind, and don't expect a realistic movie, just trip in the movie.

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• Excellent movie!

  loredanabaranga2012-02-07

  A must see movie! An extremely interesting story which captures the Romanian reality in a very original, different manner! I was so lucky to get a ticket at the Romanian Film Festival in London last November. I think everyone in the audience - both English and Romanians - loved it. An extraordinary movie indeed, the best Romanian one I have seen so far, with great acting performances and a great music. I would highly recommend it to everyone who wants to try a bit of Romanian humor, combined with a great story told by amazing actors. Everyone should go to see this movie with high expectations... And you will not be disappointed!

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• Excellent mixture of realism and fantasy. And humor.

  Marius_Stan2012-03-27

  I saw the movie in Chicago and... well... I loved it! It may be the tender, discrete love story, or the cheerful "on the road" adventure. Or the landscape, or the mixture of sadness and joy, I am not sure what it was but I did like it. The movie has elements of realism and surrealism, minimalism and maximalism (just kidding...) and above all subtle character relations and warm humor. It was refreshing to get a more luminous view of Romania after "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu". This movie is more like "The Life of Mr. Lazarescu". The acting was good, superb at times (the bus scene, the hotel room scenes, the countryside visits) and rarely sketchy(some City Hall and caravan scenes). Outstanding directing and solid screenplay. Loved the music too. All in all a very pleasant experience for an open minded viewer. Don't expect a documentary about the hardships of contemporary Romania. You can watch TV for that. Instead, let yourself dream and play along. And towards the end, take a look at your girlfriend...

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• Wonderful regional movie

  uchiharaj20062012-06-02

  One of the best regional movies I have watched so far. IT really captures the best current state of affairs in Romania. The movie is funny and has a wonderful story which tells a lot about the way of life in this country and how it is changing everyday. This country has a rich and wonderful history and at the same time a past which has not only destroyed the people's hopes and drams but also erased parts of this wonderful history. the movie has captured this concept wonderfully. I enjoyed the movie till the end, the actors are simply wonderful. The acting is natural.The scenes are not set in a set up which is the way in modern day movies. instead this movie is shot int he nature in the cities and towns of this country giving you the raw taste of this country's culture and tradition. For all those who are looking for an alternate from main stream movies I recommend this one.

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• An outrage to one's aesthetic sense and a great impunity towards the Romanians

  Alina-308-1273832012-03-04

  After reading the two precedent reviews on IMDb and knowing the excellent quality of the latest Romanian cinema wave, we went to this movie with pretty high expectations. What we saw was, instead, the most grotesque AND boring (quite rare combination) script I could imagine. I'll try to make a summary of what we felt as being deeply wrong. The plot: Along with already worn out clichés (wolfs are screaming in the night - we are in Transilvanya, right?), the script is full of nondescript allegations. I deeply understand that artistic endeavors often require significant alterations of the real world. Still, such a grotesque distortion we found as thoroughly pointless, vicious even.. Even the common sense was crushed in such a wave of gross innuendos and allegations. There are, of course, plenty of things one can laugh or criticize in Romania, but such almost obscenities are not even a caricature of Romania. Just a gross, incredible, pointless waste of time... As a Romanian living in Romania and pretty connected to what's happening around us, I did perceive them as simply injurious. Some of them: in Romania the forests have been cut out and nowadays people do not have wood any more. Not even for their coffins. Hence, they are buried in plastic bags. At one point, it is mentioned a situation when middle class people have fun along with friends because one of their little kids is Smoking (!). When the main character inquires a local about good hotels in Suceava, a Romanian town, he is answered that there are no such things in Suceava. Instead, he is left alone to find himself a place to stay. He somehow gets to a place with a slimy guy behind a glass wall protecting the reception. Where on earth did the director find something like that in Romania? Was that in his studio? We are traveling a lot around the country, we have been to Suceava a number of times. Never seen something like that... There are actually 2 hotels in the film with the same creepy kind of reception desk. Well, these latest details may seem mundane. They only add to the general lack of artistic feeling, even common sense, to the frustration for the waste of time. All in all, a huge disappointment. Totally different from so many wonderful new Romanian films of the young generation...

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