Tales from the Golden Age (2009)
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Tales from the Golden Age Movie Review
Tales from the Golden Age is a 2009 Romanian anthology film directed by Cristian Mungiu. It’s not among the director’s best works, but it’s still an effective omnibus film.
The daily life in Romania is decided on the whims and fancies of Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. People are forced to give in to his nonsensical demands else suffer the consequences. The movie consists of six stories or segments and most of them are longer than usual given that this movie is over two hours long. They range in quality of course, but not one of them was bad as all had something to offer.
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The Legend of the Official Visit is a black comedy that is quite effective at depicting how these communist dictators and their officials were treated with respect that was almost divine in quality. This is among the funniest and best segments here.
The Legend of the Party Photographer is a very entertaining segment about one photograph of Ceausescu gone wrong and everybody trying to fix things before it’s too late. This is the most ridiculous segment of the bunch and it worked in its exuberant energy reminiscent of silent cinema.
The Legend of the Zealous Activist is another comedic story, but one that is more broad in tone and approach for better and for worse. What I especially appreciated here was the glimpse into the life of regular Romanians during this era, especially the village people. It’s such a cozy folk segment that was a pleasant watch.
The Legend of the Greedy Policeman is a very bleak affair, but one that hinted at the poverty of the time, something that the regime would never admit. It ended in a very chaotic and insane fashion.
The Legend of the Air Sellers did not work as well as the other segments did. It is a story about tricksters attempting to earn some money and it felt quite realistic, but where it went wasn’t all that interesting and the energy was missing here.
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The Legend of the Chicken Driver was very similar to the previous segment in its emphasis on theft. Once again, it worked only to a degree. It felt obvious and predictable from beginning to end.
Tales from the Golden Age did lose its momentum in the second half, but beforehand it was excellent. The whole idea of these stories being legends, but actually being rooted in reality was a very clever way to examine what it must have felt like living during this period of Romanian history. The movie is so well shot, authentically scored and expectedly well directed by Mungiu.
Tales from the Golden Age definitely loses its energy and momentum in that lackluster second half, but the first half is excellent and very memorable. This is an effective anthology film directed by Cristian Mungiu that is all about the harsh reality of living a life in Romania under the dictatorship of Ceausescu. The movie is at its best when it’s using black humor to counter its quite bleak scenarios. It’s a pleasantly atmospheric and authentic watch.
My Rating – 4
This is the fifth film in my Eastern European series where I will cover one film per decade that is from a country in this region. Next up are the 2010s where I chose What a Wonderful World from 🇲🇩. Keep an eye on that one as well.
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