Mornue Reviews

Three Kilometres to the End of the World (2024)

Masterful Filmmaking: A Film That Embraces Simplicity

[8/10 · 25 May 2024]

The film revolves around a simple plot but intricately weaves each element to create a compelling story set in rural Romania, specifically in the beautiful Danube Delta.

However, the soothing and picturesque landscapes conceal ugly human stories. One character humorously criticizes his fellow countrymen, saying it's a beautiful country but with not-so-nice people.

The film explores rural Romania's general attitude towards homosexuality, interweaving themes of corruption, superficiality, over-religiousness, and power abuse. These elements paint an authentic and shockingly real image of Romanian society in the 2020s (and in Europe!).

The filmmaking is masterful and never excessive. One of the most appreciable aspects of this film is the director's ability to create a powerful work without resorting to over-the-top methods, grandiloquent camera angles, or epic music.

The film is exactly what it needs to be, contrasting with many recent cinematic works that tend to overdo it to impress. It's a reminder that, in the end, the simplest meals, made with the best ingredients, are often the best. Just as the best chefs are identified by their ability to create exceptional basic dishes, Emanuel Parvu achieves wonders with a simple yet powerful film.

"3 Kilometers Until the End of the World" is a must-see for those who crave good cinema as much as they crave a good book on a Sunday afternoon.

Asphalt City (2023)

Intense, shocking, powerful.

[8/10 · 26 May 2023]

On paper it's a very classic script: rookie emergency service worker is paired with older and more experienced colleague and, well, things happen. But many films are classic on paper, yet not on the screen.

This is a film with powerful scenes which stay with you for days after watching it.

And it has its flaws: it lacks finesse at time, editing is sometimes inconsistent and the narrative may seem not original enough.

But it makes up for all of that through the passion of showing the viewer a powerful message. Black Flies is a movie you will remember, and this is what all good films have in common. Years after seeing it you may still think about scenes you've seen and the characters' lifes and what happened to them. And isn't that what cinema is about, beyond perfect mise-en-scene and guidebook takes?

I particularly appreciated the way it was filmed, especially during very graphic scenes, where the disturbing side was accentuated by the quickly moving and sometimes shaking camera.

I also liked that, despite the fact the movie is supposedly much anchored to reality given its subject, it is filmed in a way that makes it feel like the characters are in another world, parallel and similar to ours, but with slightly different codes. Black Flies is almost like a video game world where violence is programmed and reason nonexistent, New York City is dark, gloomy and burning. In this inferno, the characters live an infinite struggle to save sometimes unsaveable people, making their role look like a necessary curse, a drop of good in an ocean of evil.

8/10.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Could have been great. It is not

[5/10 · 23 February 2018]

I personally think the main problem is the directing. The writing is actually great, I mean, looking at the movie from an objective point of view, thinking of the script: it has great turnouts, story and possibilites to make a great film. Yet, when you watch the result, nothingness. Scenes that were supposed to be sad or melancholic didn't touch me at all. Same for laughs, or action. It's just like someone followed the instructions from a great recipe of food, but...still failed it.