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12:08 East of Bucharest
Tartan USA

12:08 East of Bucharest reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 77 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.7 out of 10
based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Mircea Andreescu, Teodor Corban, Ion Sapdaru, Mirela Cioaba, Cristina Ciofu, Constantin Dita, Luminita Gheorghiu, and Lucian Iftime

Sixteen years after the Revolution and just days before Christmas, a local television station in Bucharest has invited several guests to share their moments of glory, as they allegedly stormed city hall, chanting “down with Ceasescu!,” before Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and his wife fled the presidential palace by helicopter so many years ago. (Tartan USA)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Drama  |  Foreign  
WRITTEN BY: Corneliu Porumboiu  
DIRECTED BY: Corneliu Porumboiu  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: June 6, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 89 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Romania 
LANGUAGE(S): Romanian (with English subtitles) 

Original title "A fost sau n-a fost?"; Golden Camera, 2006 Cannes Film Festival; Nominated, Best Foreign Film, 2007 Independent Spirit Awards

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
New York Post V.A. Musetto
Porumboiu, who also produced and wrote, elicits remarkably deadpan performances from Teo Corban (as the show's host), Ion Sapdaru (the professor) and - especially - Mircea Andreescu, as the old man. Even the subtitles cracked me up.
Read Full Review
100
San Francisco Chronicle Leba Hertz
It's a movie that seems simple, yet its subtle and brilliant complexity is not to be denied.
Read Full Review
91
The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
Porumboiu starts off making a mordant slice of life, but he gradually entwines the personal and the historical, then ends on a poignant note. The story and situation are slight, but in the best possible way.
Read Full Review
88
TV Guide Ken Fox
Wonderfully droll, Cannes Camera d'Or winner.
Read Full Review
88
Boston Globe Ty Burr
For all its pessimism, the movie prompts a viewer to search his or her own memories for actions rather than reactions, and to mull over the differences between the two. It's a dark little ride, but at the end the lights hesitantly flicker back on.
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80
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
This brilliantly caustic movie -- easily the best in a burgeoning and fertile effort to come to grips with post-Soviet malaise in Central and Eastern Europe -- offers living proof that when it comes to politics, comedy is the sincerest form of dissidence.
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80
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
It's clear that an exceptional body of work is coming out of this country at this particular time and place. It's not necessary to categorize these films to enjoy them, it's just necessary to go.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Philip Kennicott
A remarkable film from Romania.
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78
Austin Chronicle Toddy Burton
While 12:08 East of Bucharest could take more than one viewing to truly appreciate, it’s worth the commitment.
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75
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
Porumboiu's picture, small and pungent, lacks the resonance of "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," Cristi Puiu's masterpiece of contemporary Romanian malaise released in the U.S. last year. But this one's less forbidding, and it has a satisfying shape and fullness.
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70
Village Voice J. Hoberman
A casually bleak and neatly structured ensemble comedy--at once deadpan and bemused.
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70
Variety Justin Chang
The buoyant little comedy 12:08 East of Bucharest puts its finger on the problem in the best tradition of East European humor, savvy but concrete, gentle but sharp as a knife.
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70
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Though it is modest, almost anecdotal, in scale, 12:08 East of Bucharest is also characterized by a precise and sneaky formal wit.
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67
Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown
12:08 East of Bucharest is a shrewdly built comedy, but the characters are broad-verging-on-cheap unholy hick fools.
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50
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Part of the minimalist humor growing out of this small-scale event is that they can barely remember anything, because the revolution scarcely made any difference.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Grig O gave it a9:
Great movie! u should learn romanian to understand all the hidden humours :D we have a word for the show's host's attitude: sictir :)

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