Tales from the Golden Age (2011)

Critic Reviews

• V.A. Musetto, New York Post

  The collection is a mixed bag, although there are no clunkers.

• Stephen Holden, New York Times

  There are moments, especially in the first two tales, that conjure a maniacal Chaplinesque verve.

• J. Hoberman, Village Voice

  Bracketed by the Ceausescu anthem, the movie recalls a social disaster in painstaking detail and with a measure of ambivalent love.

• Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

  Though much lighter than the country's art-house fare of the past few years, the collection serves as a sampler of the much-heralded Romanian cinema.

• Jay Weissberg, Variety

  [The directors'] youth and talent should allay fears that the country's film explosion is incapable of hitting a broad range of notes, and offer hope that more mainstream, home-grown offerings can spur cinema building within Romania.

• James Verniere, Boston Herald

  'Golden' opportunity for foreign-language film buffs.

• Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix

  All the stories have their merits, celebrating a people amusingly out of step with their stalwart, demented leaders.

• David Noh, Film Journal International

  This deeply human array of short films dealing with Communist Romania provides many a well-observed laugh and moment of hard-pressed economic truth.

• Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com

  it is hard to comprehend a mindset that wouldn't be entertained and invigorated by the six shorts that make up Tales from the Golden Age.

• Armond White, New York Press

  Puiu's a skillful widescreen filmmaker, but he's also an urban snob who finds farm animals backward and funny.

• Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine

  Has the so-called Romanian New Wave slowed to a trickle?

• Nick Schager, House Next Door

  Boasts tonal cohesiveness but also a dispiriting lack of bite.

• Liz Braun, Jam! Movies

  All the short movies that make up Tales From the Golden Age employ the sort of black humour that suggests you'd better laugh, or you'll cry.

• Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com

  More often than not, this mixed bag hits its mark, but in two drawn-out stories, the rhythm, not to mention the absurdist plot twists, fall flat.

• Edward Porter, Sunday Times (UK)

  Every tale is engaging, but not wildly amusing - still, I can imagine Romanian viewers enjoying it. In other words, perhaps you had to be there.

• Philip French, Observer [UK]

  This is a low-key, deadpan movie and the jokes creep up on you.

• Helen OHara, Empire Magazine

  Flashes of bleak humour makes this wry portrait a compelling experience.

• David Jenkins, Time Out

  It's a frustrating case of individual triumph cancelling out collective cohesion in this sporadically enjoyable, if tonally mismatched, anthology of five short films.

• Tom Dawson, Film4

  Shot with clarity and plenty of dry humour, this impressive collection of five short films is proof of the youthful vitality of the New Romanian Cinema.

• Wendy Ide, Times [UK]

  While this wry, sometimes poignant collection ultimately runs a little long, it serves as a useful introduction to the talent that makes Romania the place to look for exciting new voices in cinema.

Read all 21 critic reviews