Razvan Radulescu Movies

One woman's visit with her family ends in a spectacularly awful fashion in this comedy drama. Felicia (Ozana Oancea) is a middle-aged librarian who was born and raised in Bucharest. These days, Felicia lives and works in the Netherlands, but she goes home once a year to see her family. After two weeks with her folks, Felicia is ready to head home, but her aging parents (Ileana Cernat and Vasile Mentzel), who promised to get her to the airport on time, aren't very good at driving these days, and Felicia arrives just in time to miss her flight home. Felicia has family commitments that demand she be home by tomorrow morning, so she has to scramble to find another flight back to the Netherlands as soon as possible, but with her folks in tow, dashing from one ticket counter to another is even harder than usual. Eventually, the stress of making new travel arrangements and dealing with her less than sympathetic parents becomes too much to deal with, and Felicia's last day in Bucharest turns into a nightmare. Felicia Inainte de Toate (aka First of All, Felicia) was the first feature film from Razvan Radulescu, a noted Romanian author who directed the picture in collaboration with Dutch filmmaker Melissa de Raaf. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The December 1989 fall of Communist Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu sets the stage for co-writer/director Radu Muntean's wry action drama following one perplexed militia's attempt to find out just who has assumed control of Bucharest once the despised tyrant has fallen. Romanian despot Ceausescu has been overthrown by a combination of military coup and civil insurrection, and now Lt. Neagu (Adi Carauleanu) has been assigned the task of maintaining the peace in a small Bucharest suburb. When Lt. Neagu and his heavily armored militia squad hear news that pro-Ceausescu forces are attempting to wrestle control of a national television station away from anti-Ceausescu counterparts, ambitious militiaman Costi (Paul Ipgate) suggests that the troupe leave to help fend off the "terrorists" who would see the feared dictator reinstated. After Costi slips away from the militia to help defend the television station, he is recruited to help defend a house full of protestors from terrorists. Inexplicably, Costi himself is accused of terrorism by the very people he was attempting to help and is forced to convince the protestors of his democratic beliefs. Realizing that Costi has deserted the militia and frightened that he will be held responsible for losing his soldier, Lt. Neagu and his squad discover that their mission is far from over after arriving as Costi's suburban home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) is not feeling well. He has a bad headache and has been vomiting. He feels that it is something more serious than the pain caused by his ulcer and the hangovers caused by his regular excessive drinking. He calls for an ambulance, and after convincing the skeptical dispatcher that he is not simply drunk, he begins the long wait for help to arrive. Eventually, he visits his neighbors, Sandu (Doru Ana) and Miki (Dana Dogaru), in search of stronger pain relievers. They are busy and reluctant to help him, but eventually realize that something may be seriously wrong with the smelly old drunkard. Sandu takes him back to his apartment, and, later, the paramedic, Mioara (Luminita Gheorghiu), finally arrives. After ascertaining that Lazarescu has been drinking to excess, she considers giving him an aspirin and going on her way, but a quick examination shows that the old man is in severe pain, and Mioara begins to suspect that he is gravely ill. Thus begins a long, unpleasant journey from one hospital to another, as Lazarescu faces a backlog of patients caused by a massive traffic accident, and the cold indifference of arrogant doctors who appear hesitant to cure a man who has seemingly destroyed his own health. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu was co-written and directed by Rumanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu. It was shown at the 2005 New York Film Festival, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi