In this film Romanian director Nicolae Margineanu focuses on the toll that political and social crises can take on the personal values and family life of ordinary people."Look Forward in Anger" reflects on the harsh realities of the post-Communist era in which the film itself was shot.Four years after the bloody Romanian revolution of 1989,Remus Margineanu delivers a brilliant performance in the role of Stefan Ciugudeanu,a former political dissident who wakes up to an uncertain future and feels cheated of his revolutionary expectations both by the economic transition and by the subtle but sure perpetuation of old communist structures.Problematic because of their centrality to the film remain,in my opinion,some Western stereotypes about Romania,such as the ever growing number of stray dogs and street children as a metaphor of the country's inability to deal with the bleak legacy of the Communist period.On top of this,the frequent aerial perspectives (be they from a crane,helicopter or the top of a building),as well as the main character's belief up to the very end that the way out can come only from high above the ground could be said to represent Romania's inability to move towards the future because of its perseverance to deal with material problems in an idealistic way.Whether or not Margineanu is critical of this superseded idealism is something each viewer should decide for him-/herself.
4 Reviews
Look ahead in anger
M0n0_bogdan15 April 2023
Yeah, we kinda needed a revolution after the Revolution.
Margineanu's film is depressing and neorealist, just like many other post-Decembrist romanian films are, but a more 90s film about Romania there is none. Everybody wanted a better life but life itself was against them. We built it in such a way there is no way up except if you were corrupt. And that's exactly what happened. Our Senat and Parlament were filled with corrupt individuals that were part of the "Securitate". Slowly, very slowly this is changing but not always in our favor.
Margineanu made a political film that deserved a better script for the epic scene toward the end. But even so, a very good romanian film that is quintessentially romanian.
Margineanu's film is depressing and neorealist, just like many other post-Decembrist romanian films are, but a more 90s film about Romania there is none. Everybody wanted a better life but life itself was against them. We built it in such a way there is no way up except if you were corrupt. And that's exactly what happened. Our Senat and Parlament were filled with corrupt individuals that were part of the "Securitate". Slowly, very slowly this is changing but not always in our favor.
Margineanu made a political film that deserved a better script for the epic scene toward the end. But even so, a very good romanian film that is quintessentially romanian.
How a family is affected by Romania's painful way from communism to capitalism
rievilo8021 October 2005
After the revolution of December 1989, Romania is in full transition. Incertainty and chaos have followed Ceausescu's downfall. Fane, a worker in a wharf on the river Danube, is a former dissident who was in involved in politically motivated uprisings. Now that he has achieved what he has fought for, he is unemployed and everything around him seems to fall to pieces. His whole family falls victim to the changes of the early 90s. His daughter prostitutes herself, his elder son ends up in prison and his younger son becomes a thief. The realistic story as well as the superb characters give you a true insight in Romania's painful transition from communism to capitalism.
the spider web
Kirpianuscus31 December 2018
Reality as a large spider web . The gray traits of transition to democracy. A case. And the atmosphere of late neorealism. Impressive performances. Impecable story. Portraits of angry, compromises and humilation. Sure, nothing new for Romanian contemporary cinema . But the force of image, the hopeless message, the cinematography are pieces defining this film of Nicolae Margineanu as special in profound sense.
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