RaduBontideanu Review of Next Stop Paradise

Next Stop Paradise (1998)

Brilliant picture of the Romanian society. But not for everyone!

[8/10 · 11 January 2016]

Personally I consider Terminus Paradis as one of the greatest (if not the best) Romanian films ever made. Apparently, the movie follows the story of an unusual and yet hilarious couple that struggles to find a way to live together their "impossible" love story in spite of all the social obstacles that arise from the very first moment of their strange encounter (beautifully illustrated in the beginning of the film). From that moment, the protagonists Mitu and Norica find themselves in an impossibility to live a normal life together as they have to face the difficult mentality of the weird members of Mitu's family, the obvious lack of any sources of income or proper life conditions and, not the least, the Norica's total dependence of her boss and occasionally lover Gili (an old man who owns a small and obscure bar, like many other people trying to earn social respect and fortune during those times). Although their relationship may seem kind of "sick" by some standards (as they fell in love with each other when they were already very drunk) it's in fact a beautiful and emotional story which shows the truth of our society, questions our points of view upon everything and haunts the viewers with ruthless images and filthy language (which seems to be a "must have" in a Romanian film currently). Their love story is actually way more normal than any other human relations presented in the movie, like: Mitu - his father, Norica - Gili or Mitu - his brother. These relations are in essence more relevant and true than it appears to be. The family of Mitu is not weird at all. The typology of its members were and still are very common in the Romanian society. As you may guess, this film has also an "army part". Mitu is forced by his own poor condition to join the military service. Terminus Paradis is known in Romania mostly because of a single famous scene from a military base where Captain Burcea manages to become one of the most "bad*ss" characters in the Romanian cinematography. He uses many English slang terms, is very foul-mouthed and cruel but he's, in fact, a minor character who is on screen for around 10 minutes. However, the Romanian military service in those times (still mandatory in '98, but not for long) is also very well pictured and the kind personality of Colonel Vatasescu is an essential key for the dramatic and disturbing final scene from the train. What makes the film really special is the in-depth looking in the heart of two simple Romanian people, whose dramatic story reveals a beautiful portrayal of the Romanian society is the late 90's, after 10 years since the revolution against communism. All the characters have their own unique way to survive and get over poverty, old mentality and the values of a patriarchal society, trying to live an actual "American dream". Mitu and Norica manage in the end to find their peace and harmony in love, but in a very tragic way. I'm not gonna spoil more of this, but I'm gonna warn you that the ending scenes are very sad and emotional, perfectly suitable for this classic Romanian drama made in 1998, but still very relevant nowadays. As a Romanian I highly recommend this film if you want to discover a new kind of cinematic experience or have an interest in marginal societies. For us, this movie will never get old enough!