MMXX. Cristi Puiu Revisits his Annus Horribilis Through Lengthy Anthology.

The Malmkrog man remains mad

Few countries in the world experienced quite the cultural divide over the coronavirus pandemic as Romania. While doctors and health experts promoted the idea of lockdowns and masks as simple common sense, vocal voices from the other side compared these health measures to fascism and the reign of Nicolae Ceaușescu. This political, suspicious, paranoid edge is best exemplified by Radu Jude’s excellent Golden Bear winner Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021), which expertly tackles these paradoxes and cultural schisms head-on.  

One particularly critical voice was Romanian New Wave progenitor Cristi Puiu himself, who refused to wear a mask when introducing Malmkrog (2020) at Cluj Napoca, saying it was inhumane to keep one on for 200 minutes. He went on to say that “the political power who rules at this moment (the National Liberal Party) should have talked to us, not treated us like cattle!” These comments didn’t go down well in the wider cultural sphere. He was replaced by Matt Dillon on the Venice Jury that same year due to “unexpected difficulties”  that may or may not have been coronavirus-related. 

It’s worth pointing out that his comments, like many so-called coronavirus pariahs, weren’t that bad, especially as he didn’t deny the virus’ existence and said he respected distancing as and when he could. It was also perhaps taken out of context in the Western media, who knew next to nothing as to how the lockdown measures were implemented in Romania specifically. Nonetheless, it speaks to the director’s ability to whip up controversy, whether it’s through his punishing runtimes, bitterly dark themes, austere cinematography or reputation for running a harsh set. His latest is no exception. 

Following up his (unfairly maligned) masterpiece Malmkrog with a return to the Romanian language, his anthology film MMXX — denoting its period in Roman numerals — revisits his annus horribilis, resulting in a mixed-grab-bag of ideas that somewhat clarify his views on the socio-political effects of the virus. At turns amusing and grimly dark, yet always punishingly austere, these four separate yet interrelated short films have COVID-19 either as the theme or as the backdrop. The results are, naturally, mixed, making for a minor effort compared to his best work such as Sieranevada (2016) or The Death of Mr. Lazerescu (2005). 

Read the rest over at Journey Into Cinema.