Stars: Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Rares Andrici
Storyline
Romeo Aldea (49), a physician living in a small mountain town in Transylvania, has raised his daughter Eliza with the idea that once she turns 18, she will leave to study and live abroad. His plan is close to succeeding - Eliza has won a scholarship to study psychology in the UK. She just has to pass her final exams - a formality for such a good student. On the day before her first written exam, Eliza is assaulted in an attack that could jeopardize her entire future. Now Romeo has to make a decision. There are ways of solving the situation, but none of them using the principles he, as a father, has taught his daughter.
Cast: Adrian Titieni -
Romeo
Maria-Victoria Dragus -
Eliza
(as Maria Dragus)
Rares Andrici -
Marius
Lia Bugnar -
Magda
Malina Manovici -
Sandra
Vlad Ivanov -
Chief Inspector
Valeriu Andriutã -
Suspect no 4
Eniko Benczo -
Mrs. Mariana
Ioana Chitu -
Paramedic
(voice)
Ioachim Ciobanu -
Suspect no 1
Petre Ciubotaru -
Vice-Mayor Bulai
Constantin Cojocaru -
Locksmith
Gelu Colceag -
Exam Commitee President
Mihai Coroianu -
Suspect no 3
Alexandra Davidescu -
Romeo's mother
Taglines:
A father will do anything to save his daughter's future.
Filming Locations: Victoria, Brasov County, Romania
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
An alternative title that was considered for the film was "Recycled Feelings". See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 9/10
Films rarely put forward leading characters that they then choose to
vehemently punish throughout. But this is Mungiu, who has already
proved more than adept at creating authentic and ruthless portrayals of
society and in Bacalaureat he scrapes at the edges of our souls. His
tale of generational change is predicated on the dismantling of a
profoundly patriarchal state of being. To this purpose, he crafts a
story of remarkable complexity and depth, which cuts across so many
layers, that taking them apart would be counterproductive.
In short: Eliza is sexually assaulted one day before her 'bacalaureat',
the final set of high-school exams students sit in Romania. She had
been awarded a conditional scholarship at a university in the UK, but
her impairment, both mental and physical, poses a threat to her getting
the grades she needs. Cue in the father, Romeo, a local doctor, whose
life is about to encounter quite the upheaval in his desire to ensure
Eliza fulfills his own botched 'destiny' of leaving the country. Things
take a turn for the complicated as he is more or less inadvertently
offered an opportunity to guarantee the results his daughter needs. The
circuit of corruption is as informal as it is intricate - a friend of a
friend situation, one hand washes the other kind of thing. And beyond
all this mess, Romeo also has to keep up the facade of his marriage,
while dating a single mother, Sandra, who happens to be a teacher at
Eliza's high-school.
What makes Bacalaureat instantly and distinctively good is the
attention to detail, which breeds both familiarity and authenticity.
But unlike Mungiu's previous major success, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days,
the grimness does not stem from the subject matter, or the dry
(non-)stylization of the story, but from how intertwined the many
strands of this one case prove to be. Shadowing the father along it is
painful because his shortcomings are obvious from afar. But it is his
demise that is so important to ensure a new generation comes along
which will set itself apart from the current one. He is tragic, because
not only can he not escape his destiny, but he doesn't recognize his
role in propagating that which he abhors. Romeo's willingness to
compromise in order to ensure his daughter's chance of being the change
he desires is part of the hereditary disease plaguing any such social
construction.
Taking a wider view, it isn't coincidental that every
moral-institutional junction is safeguarded by a man - a doctor, a
police officer, a former mayoral figure, a school commissioner, a
prosecutor. Contrasting this are the female characters, the strength of
Eliza, the stoicism of Sandra, the wisdom of Romeo's wife, Magda. It's
a battle of utilitarian and deontological ethics, posing the question
of whether moral pragmatism can be moral at all. There is little doubt
where Mungiu sides, as the male 'keywardens' are at least one of:
cynical, unfeeling, self-serving, hypocritical. Masculine instincts are
both highlighted ('it wasn't a rape, it was just a sexual assault!')
and criticized. Even as it seems that a pair of male characters come
along that are understanding and humane, there is a strong pinch of
self-interest that dictates terms, which is why they are punished with
a fine ironic touch by the director.
For all that happens, there are two scenes which summarize the journey
we are on. Firstly, when 'someone' (life?) throws a stone at the
apartment Romeo's family is living in, thereby breaking a window, he
rushes out confidently, as if finding the culprit were a matter of
when, rather than if. Then, towards the end of the film, as Romeo's
life unravels by the virtue of his poor choices, he decides to venture
after the assumed perpetrator of the assault on his daughter; now,
however, he loses the trail instantly, finds himself wandering confused
in the shadows of apartment buildings, jumping at every unexpected
noise coming his way. The grip, the control over how society is run,
ever loosening.
If anything, I would criticize Mungiu for being overly and overtly
moralistic. There are several moments where characters are used as
props to portray said moral perspectives, scenes which feel artificial
and pedagogically pedantic. Also, the bureaucratic coldness conveyed by
almost all officials (one moment dictating an official statement
concerning Eliza's rape, the next discussing trivialities) feels
uninspiring by now - there is a sense that themes are contained within
a national frame, that our sole focus is alleviating the burdens of the
past, more than the challenges of the present. And although this is
hinted at during the film, the matter of exam fraud was as rooted as it
is illustrated here about ten years ago, when I myself was finishing
high-school. Hence, it feels against the times in a way, but then this
can also be viewed as the last vestiges of an era, Romeo's solution
being retrograde especially in such a light.
Bickering aside, creating such a complex and highly integrated story
that feels true to itself almost all the way is quite splendid indeed.
It's not an easy ride for viewers, who will suffer the pain of
compromise, of systemic contortion against the individual - ultimately,
Romeo has good intentions, the world just seems to require of him to do
what he does, to right a wrong with a wrong. Yet, it remains the
individual that decides, which is why the 'bacalaureat' is such an
important stepping stone for change and for maturity. Mungiu's film is
a comment on the precipice we are finding ourselves on now, where we
see the change more clearly, are even enacting it, but it is the
follow-up that will define us as a people, as a generation. Funnily
enough, he proves to be an optimist.
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