Fresh
Dry comedies from eastern Europe tend to cast a skeptical eye on anything and everything, which is certainly the case with Corneliu Porumboiu's debut feature.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
12:08 East of Bucharest
2006 · 1h 29m · Unrated
Comedy, Drama
Directed by
Corneliu Porumboiu
Overview
It's the 22nd of December. Sixteen years have passed since the revolution, and in a small town Christmas is about to come. Piscoci, an old retired man is preparing for another Christmas alone. Manescu, the history teacher, tries to keep up with his debts. Jderescu, the owner of a local television post, seems not to be so interested in the upcoming holidays. For him, the time to face history has come. Along with Manescu and Piscoci, he is trying to answer for himself a question which for 16 years has not had an answer: "Was it or wasn't it a revolution in their town?"
Director and cast
- Corneliu Porumboiu Director
- Mircea Andreescu as Emanoil Piscoci
- Teodor Corban as Virgil Jderescu
- Ion Sapdaru as Tiberiu Manescu
- Mirela Cioabă as Doamna Manescu
- Luminița Gheorghiu as Doamna Jderescu
- Cristina Ciofu as Vali
- Lucian Iftime as Lica
- Anne Marie Chertic as Vera
- Petrică Sapdaru Cast
- Cătălin Paraschiv Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
96%
Tomatometer
Rotten
12:08 East of Bucharest is easier to admire than enjoy, funnier to describe than actually watch.
John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
Fresh
Porumboiu's satire about history and short memories is a modest, deadpan masterpiece.
David Fear, Time Out New York
Fresh
12:08 East of Bucharest cleverly takes on the aftermath of the December 1989 revolution in Romania that resulted in the overthrow of Nicolae Ceaucescu. It's a movie that seems simple, yet its subtle and brilliant complexity is not to be denied.
Leba Hertz, San Francisco Chronicle
Fresh
Black comedy with a subtle political edge.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
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