The Father Who Moves Mountains

Having seen a few recent Romanian films, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect — a quiet human drama filled with despair and a sense of hopelessness that digs deep into your soul. The film doesn’t hit you with obvious emotions right away; instead, it slowly lets a feeling of unease and melancholy creep in. That’s something Romanian cinema has really mastered in recent years, and this film is no exception. The only difference here is that it doesn’t drag on for three hours — thank god for that. (09/27/2021)

A film based on a true story that I hadn't heard of, but I'm certainly glad I know about it now. From a cinematic standpoint, however, there's not much to go on. Romania in general goes beyond me and I went into the movie blind just based on the solid 80% on imdb. The visuals are mediocre, the acting is thankfully believable (which was my biggest fear), and the emotional aspect didn't work for me at all – I somehow couldn't empathize with the character of the father and live through his suffering with him, which is probably the main goal of the film, as visually there is a drastic lack of footage of the harsh mountain environment. In the end the film is a mere drama that is a bit too down to earth in places. Overall, it's a story about a father's sacrifice to save his son, but if I were to consider whether the film is worth watching, the final verdict would be NO. Cinematically, it doesn't have much to offer and it's a bland film with no great directorial qualities. (09/17/2021)