R.M.N.
2022, 125 minutes, Colour.
Marin Grigore Judith State,
Directed by Cristian Mungiu.
The initial of the title is the Romanian versions of MRI. , in fact during the film there is a sequence with an MRI scan, the father of the central character. It would seem that with the title, the prominent Romanian director, Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, Beyond the Hills, Graduation) is wanting to do something of a cinema scan on contemporary Romanian society.
This is very much a film for the home audience, the familiarity with Romanian society in the second half of the 20th century, part of the Soviet bloc, the dictator Ceausescu, his downfall, new alignment with the West, member of the European Union. There are also the difficulties of the cost of life, industries, migration throughout Europe for work, the bringing in of migrants workers, and the underlying racial and ethnic prejudices (even supported by the Catholic Church).
The film opens with glimpses of a contemporary Romanian city and there are various vistas of the city, some close-ups of the buildings, streets, as well as scenes in the forest outside.
But, there are some central characters, especially Matthew, some Hungarian background, with a setting in Transylvania and a mixture of Hungarian, German, Romanian origins. He has left work in Germany after disputes in an abattoir, comes home to see his child, a fearful boy, and he spends a lot of his time trying to making tough, not a sissy, taking him hunting, accompanying him to school only so far… He is estranged from his wife, is in a relationship with a woman who is running a company, a bakery, in the town, which is employing Sri Lankan migrants. There is also the issue of Matthew’s ill father.
So, on the one hand, there is a human story with its contemporary overtones. On the other hand, there are the social issues, dramatised in the response to the Sri Lankan migrants, the welcome by the two women in the company, their working in the bakery, some friendly sequences, especially a home meal, cooking Sri Lankan style, songs and dances.
However, very striking, especially one sequence of a town meeting, there are impassioned objections from many of the townspeople, xenophobic comments, challenges to the Mayor, the role of the priest in trying to mediate. This is a long sequence, key to the MRI on the state of Transylvania.
As expected, there are various complications, Matthew and his trying to help his son, the clashes with his wife, the illness and death of his father, his relationship with the woman at the bakery.
There is also a lot of Transylvanian symbolism which may well be lost on many of the audience, the children reenacting songs and traditions, the symbolism of a bear in the forest which terrifies the young boy, symbolic bears who menace people in the town.
For those interested in Romanian cinema, this is a welcome addition to the other films by the director which should be seen.
