After being evicted from his makeshift basement shelter in a house put up for sale, a homeless man dies by suicide. Orsolya, a court bailiff assigned to carry out the eviction, wrestles with her guilt in various ways. A blend of drama and comedy set in Cluj, in the ethnically mixed region of Transylvania, the film unfolds against the backdrop of violent gentrification, deepening class inequalities, and chaotic urban development in a city being turned into a so-called “smart city.” With an absurdist edge, Jude dissects various but complementary topics – a housing crisis, post-socialist economy, nationalism, and the power of language to cement social status, while also paying homage to Rossellini’s Europe ’51, though more as caricature than metaphysical tragedy. Whereas Rossellini’s protagonist, played by Ingrid Bergman, finds solace in caring for the poor and sick, embodying a kind of modern-day sainthood hypocritically condemned by society and the authorities, Jude’s Orsolya, portrayed by Eszter Tompa, fails to resolve her moral crisis. As the narrative unfolds, she becomes increasingly dependent on validation and comforting opinions from those around her, soothing her conscience in ways that preserve the status quo and avoid real change. Her dilemma uncomfortably reflects the moral relativism and conformism of an age of genocide – a condition to which none of us is immune, but which, to paraphrase Sloterdijk’s words, demands a shared “co-immunization.” Orsolya isn’t a killer – or is she – just as much as the rest of us, complicit within a broader economic system. Jude’s film is not so much satire, as much as it is a reflection on the absurd and complex ways people respond to tragedy, whether happening right next door or consumed safely through ubiquitous screens. (Dina Pokrajac)
Awards & Festivals:
Berlinale (2025) – World Premiere, Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
Radu Jude is a Romanian director and screenwriter who studied film in Bucharest and began his career as an assistant director. A member of the second generation of Romania’s New Wave, his short The Tube with a Hat (2006) won over 50 international awards. His debut feature, The Happiest Girl in the World (2009), was shown at over 50 international festivals. His acclaimed follow-ups include Bravo!, Scarred Hearts, and Everybody in Our Family, winning multiple awards including the Silver Bear for Directing at Berlinale in 2015, Special Jury Prize in Locarno in 2016, and a European Film Award nomination for Best Screenwriter. His first documentary The Dead Nation premiered in Locarno in 2017. I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018) won the Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary. Recent titles include Uppercase Print (2020), Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Berlinale 2021 – Golden Bear), and Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Locarno 2023 – Silver Leopard).
