3/5 less often is more
  by E. Dana Neacsu
Porumboiu is a poet with an ear for linguistic rhythm, and his actors give Oscar-worth performances. The music with klezmer inflections matches the story's inconsequential, bitter-sweet ironies. The callers' remarks during the TV show punctuate the narration and when Bajean calls, his aural presence brings to mind Roberto Saviano's Gomorrah. However, when all ends the aftertaste is of a Prosecco, although all the ingredients would have suggested a Veuve Clicquot. I could not help inquire why and I think that the rotten over sweet taste came from the last caller's intervention. It was uncalled for by the narrative except perhaps to tell us what Porumboiu thinks about history, facts, and their relevance. I did not need to know that much.

1/5 Run... don't walk...
  by Emmly (Midwest)
I was looking forward to watching this movie because of all the great reviews it received here on Amazon. I have NO idea what these reviewers are smoking!!!
I am Romanian, and I really wanted to like this film. Clearly, I did not. It's a jumbled mess of words and story lines. No plot of any kind. The characters are not likeable and are not interesting. There's nothing redeeming about any of them. The dialog is alright, but nothing to write home about (Thank you for Smoking was an amazingly well written movie and E of Bucharest doesn't even come minisculely close).

If this was a comedy, I'd like to know what a drama is like in Romanian film making.

The scenery is pathetic and dark. Unfortunately, even though I left Romania when I was 15 years old, that's exactly how I remember it. Dilapidated, dirty, dark and all around sad.

By the time this movie ended I was wishing for the Securitate to storm in and line everyone up against the wall.

I really really wanted to like this. Skip this one and fast!

4/5 Rumanian Comedy
  by Un francais en angleterre (Londres, UK)
This movie is shot fairly traditionally and the main interest is in the scenario and dialogue. The plot is rather simple, with a televised debate on the last day of the Caucescu dictature giving the director the opportunity to look ironically at his country's current society. Simple does not mean simplistic though and the director makes best use of the simple premises, to good comedic effect most of the time. Don't expect joke after joke though, there's quite a bit of character development, which I found good, but slows down somewhat the movie (not a problem for me, just thought I'd mention for those of you who like fast paced comedies)

1/5 Not in watchable condition!
  by Barbara S. Weitz (Miami, FL USA)
DVD is defective--stops halfway through, even after cleaning it. It must have been in that condition when sent.

4/5 You say we had a revolution . . .
  by Ronald Scheer (Los Angeles)
This dourly amusing political comedy from Romania is a throwback to Soviet bloc films of the 1960s (e.g. "Closely Watched Trains"), and its message is that not much has changed since then. People still make fools of themselves while clinging desperately to shreds of dignity, and life is elsewhere. Set in a town somewhere "east of Bucharest," the story follows the events of a day in late December as a few characters make an effort to remember (and remember correctly) what they did when Nicolae Ceausescu's communist government fell - his departure from the capital at 12:08 p.m. Did anyone rush to the town square to celebrate before then, or did they wait until after?

For the moderator of a TV call-in show, the question seems to matter a lot. Meanwhile, the young boys of the next generation are setting off firecrackers to startle the grownups, money is short and the only pastime seems to be getting drunk in the local bar, a lone Chinese businessman in town gets his fair share of ethnic abuse, and there's an effort to somehow observe Christmas with a tree and a proper Santa suit. The DVD has a commentary by the director, who reveals that the film was inspired by an actual TV show in his hometown marking the 16th anniversary of the "revolution." Funny and sad.