5 & 15 Oct 2008

20.00, NFT2 , South Bank, London SE1 8XT; Box Office:020 7928 3232

Feature film/Romania/2005/153 mins/colour/Romanian with English subtitles
Directed by Cristi Puiu. Starring: Ion Fiscuteanu, Luminita Gheorghiu, Gabriel Spahiu

A darkly witty, deeply felt chronicle of an ailing elderly man’s increasingly life-imperilling trips from one Bucharest hospital to another, this is one of the best films about mortality ever made. Film time and real time usually differ considerably. In this darkly witty, deeply felt chronicle of an ailing elderly man’s increasingly life-imperilling trips in an ambulance from one Bucharest hospital to another, Puiu cleverly paces his film to give the impression that events are happening in real time – a fitting ruse as this is one of the best films about mortality and our frighteningly fragile hold on life. Time continues, but – just like that! – it may do so without us.

Details on www.bfi.org.uk