Tales from the Golden Age

After winning the Golden Palm for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, the Romanian director Mungiu decided to take a different tack. It annoyed him that the new Romanian cinema was appreciated by critics and film festival visitors, but did not manage to reach a mass audience in its own country. Tales from the Golden Age is therefore accessible and entertaining, without resorting to cheap amusement. The film, with five directors, is about several urban legends from the time of Ceausescu. Stories that provide evidence in a comic way of the absurdity of the dictatorship. For instance there is the story of the small village that was expecting an important visitor and desperately try to live up to the insane demands of the Communist Party. And we see how two young people earn money by exploiting the ubiquitous fear of the authorities.