Projects

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WriterCristi Puiu
Top castBianca Cuculici, Otilia Panainte, Dragos Bucur
Release Year2023
Runtime 2h40
LanguageRomanian
Four short moments in time that are capturing the wanderings of a bunch of errant souls stuck at the crossroads of history

Casting

Bianca CuculiciOana Pfeifer
Laur BondarencoMihai Dumitru
Otilia PanainteIoana Elisabeta Macri
Florin TibreSeptimiu Pfeifer
Igor BabiacEugen
Roxana OgrendilCezara Postelnicu
Adelaida PerjoiuConsuelo
Dorian BogutaGiani
Dragos BucurNarcis Pătrănescu
Marin CumatrencoPolițistul

Credits

  • Music J. S. Bach, Wishbone Ash, Giuseppe Verdi, George Rosey
  • Director of photography Ivan Grincenco, Silviu Stavilă
  • Sound Alexandru Dumitru, Cristophe Vingtrinier
  • Set design Cristi Puiu
  • Costume design Cristi Puiu
  • Make-up and hair Ana Mihalache, Ligia Matei, Bianca Cuculici
  • Film editing Sebastian Pereanu, Ecaterinca Iaschevici
  • Production manager Sergiu Cumatrenco
  • Executive producer Mihai Rîpan, Ana Maria Pârvan
  • Producer Dorian Boguță, Dragoș Bucur, Anca Puiu, Cristi Puiu
  • Countries of origin Romania, France, Moldova

Synopsis

Oana Pfifer, a young therapist visibly distracted by some unknown reasons, is slipping little by little inside the net of the questionnaire she is supposed to submit to her patient. Mihai Dumitru, Oana’s younger brother, worrying about the preparations of his anniversary and not realizing how inappropriate his demands are, is stuck in a story far bigger than what he can handle.

Septimiu Pfifer, Oana’s husband, concerned about his health regarding a possible Covid-19 contamination, is vaguely listening to a strange story his ambulance colleague was caught inside long ago, while waiting for the next emergency call. Narcis Patranescu, an organized crime inspector, perturbed by the recent death of one of his colleagues, is on the grip of an unsettling dark story while interrogating a young woman during a funeral.

Four short moments in time that are capturing the wanderings of a bunch of errant souls stuck at the crossroads of history.

Reviews

Puiu’s depiction of it all makes for an alienating watch, and on emerging from his maze, it’s hard to know exactly where you’ve been, or why Puiu has chosen to take you there

Jonathan Romney | Screen International

September 26, 2023 | Full review ↗

Puiu’s microscopic approach proves to be more unnerving than usual... and one wonders if the film might feel more approachable as a cranky time capsule decades from now

Nicholas Bell | ioncinema.com

September 26, 2023 | Full review ↗

,,Cristi Puiu’s MMXX is immersive in an entirely different way: it plunges us directly into the lives of its characters, refusing convenient signposts and leaving us to navigate for ourselves the maze of its often elusive meaning.''

Jonathan Romney | Screendaily

25.09.2023 | Full review ↗

,,As you are groping for an idea of who these people are, you are glued to the screen, hanging on their every word.''

Cédric Succivalli | International Cinephile Society

25.09.2023 | Full review ↗

,,Puiu displays his usual ability to explore the characters, and the central themes of their stories, through their conversations, long and lively, sometimes dizzying and overwhelming.''

David González | Cineuropa

27.09.2023 | Full review ↗

,,The latest from Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu comprises four salty slices of pandemic-era life which range from the outwardly comic to the overtly grizzly.''

David Jenkins | Little White Lies

24.09.2023 | Full review ↗

,,But what MMXX demonstrates with such acuity is how its characters’ usual ways of getting a grip on the world have given way.''

Lawrence Garcia | In Review Online

30.09.2023 | Full review ↗

Media

Images

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