Cluj, Transylvania. After being driven from his shelter in a house cellar, a homeless man commits suicide. Orsolya, the bailiff who carried out the eviction, is impelled to make various attempts to address her feelings of guilt. Although she did everything by the book, she is mulling over how she could have acted differently. Unable to find anybody to understand her, she becomes increasingly desperate for external reassurance and validation. Wandering through the streets, she meets a former student. But this is just one of the slightly absurd and comical situations in which the protagonist finds herself while addressing her crisis of conscience.
“When we question our own reactions to tragedies, we often find them on the verge of the ridiculous. I’m not judging – I do it too – but I find that there’s a comedic, almost Balzacian ‘human comedy’ in these contradictions. It’s less a satire and more a reflection of the absurdity and complexity of human reactions.” (Radu Jude)
Radu Jude
Born in Bucharest, Romania in 1977, graduated in film from the city’s Media University. His debut feature, The Happiest Girl in the World screened in the Forum and received worldwide attention. He won the Silver Bear for Best Director with Aferim! at the 2015 Berlinale. In 2021, he won the Golden Bear with Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn. He has asserted himself as one of Europe's most idiosyncratic, controversial and socially critical filmmakers.