By Robert St. Martin
Los Feliz, California (The Hollywood Times) 03/06/2024
On Tuesday night at the Los Feliz Theatre in Hollywood was a screening of the Romanian film Aferim! (2015) – as part of a retrospective this month by American Cinematheque of the films of Radu Jude, one of Romania’s most interesting contemporary filmmakers. Aferim! was the winner of the 2015 Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Set in the southern Romanian region of Wallachia in 1835, a policeman, Costandin, is hired by a nobleman to find a Gypsy slave who has run away from his estate after having an affair with his wife. It is important to understand that under the Ottomans and under later Romanian independence, “gypsies” or Roma were usually enslaved – and it was not until 1853, that they were “freed’ of their status as slaves in Romanian society.
This feudal western about gypsy slavery unravels like an epic road movie through Romanian history. But we soon discover that Aferim! is a deceptively funny and visually alluring enquiry into the roots of racism in Romania and perhaps much of Eastern Europe. Our guide through early19th century Romania is Gendarme Costandin (Teodor Corban), a crude, yet silver-tongued officer of the law. His persona lies somewhere between Nicolae Ceaușescu and Don Quixote, and he’s fittingly accompanied by his own Sancho Panza – his son and protégé Ionita (Muhai Comanoiu). They have been employed by their local boyar to track and retrieve a gypsy named Carfin (Cuzin Toma), a slave who fled after being accused of having an affair with his master’s wife.
On their journey through the cholera-stricken Carpathian steppes, they encounter travelers and villagers from various backgrounds. From an outspoken monk, who recites an encyclopedic tirade of racial abuse that covers nationalities and religions from across the length and breadth of Europe, to the patrons of a distant tavern brimming with drunken merriment and easy prostitution. At every step Costandin shares with us with boorish jokes and misplaced wisdom, but as this father and son’s quest progresses, we begin to learn that Costandin’s sense of moral decency might not be as wayward as his bigotry and misogynistic remarks suggest.
There is an endearingly craggy affability to Costandin, and the laughter that emanates from the audience’s reaction to his exploits raises a far bigger question: Just how archaic is this form of humor? Jude and Florin Lazarescu’s script hands out its fair share of invectives, from labeling women as “hags” and gypsies’ “crows” to myriad highly offensive ethnic slurs. This even includes a priest’s explanation of the term “gypsy” as originating in the folkloric belief that “gypsies” originally came from Egypt. Whilst undeniably crude, this dialogue offers a shrewd look at the racist mentality of the period. Radu Jude’s Aferim! is not just meandering philosophical introspection. Its black-and-white cinematography looks magnificent too.
This all makes for a surprisingly jovial history lesson, one that draws on real accounts of gypsy slavery. The film is effectively a quest for answers – a voyage to understand the roots of racial inequality. “This world will stay on as it is,” Costandin tells his son towards the end of the film. “You can’t change it, try as you might.” Their journey itself shows how slow progress can be, but there is some optimism to be found between the tragedy and comedy of the final moments. The title Aferim! is a Turkish word that has been incorporated into Romanian and translates as “Bravo!” – an ironic pat on the back to contemporary Romania’s progressive moves towards greater equality for the Romani or “gypsy” community, yet the abiding message of Aferim! is clear: Never forget the lessons that history has taught us. As Costandin would put it, “In the ass of the humble, the devil sits cross-legged.”
Coming up in this American Cinematheque series of the films of Radu Jude is his latest film Don’t Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023) – winner of the Special Jury Award at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival. It is a fierce and darkly comic swipe at modern day life as an underpaid, fed-up production assistant in Bucharest becomes caught up in a scandal. This film will screen at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood at 3 pm on Saturday, March 16.
His previous film Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021), received the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2021. Bad Luck Banging will screen at the Los Feliz Theatre on Saturday, April 6, at 7:00 pm. Coming a bit sooner to the Los Feliz Theatre on Saturday, March 9, at 4:00 pm with be an earlier film of Radu Jude – I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018). Scarred Hearts (2016) will be at the Los Feliz Theatre on Tuesday, March 19, at 9:30 pm.
