This is an excellent film that has a wonderfully original take on the 'Road Movie' genre. I believe, this film's concept and realisation could only have been made in Europe. The movie gives the appearance that it works outside of the confines of a set script, because its construct is to simply follow and observe a group of young children on a road trip to see the sea. I say simple, of course it's really the opposite as their reactions to situations and their changing relationships with each other are full of detailed nuances.
This is the story of a group of young kids of varying ages from around 7 to 13 who live in poverty in the dusty Romanian countryside. One day they explore a large metal container that has been dumped on waste ground and find a car inside which is in full working order. It becomes clear when the kids explore the contents of the boot that the car must have belonged to some sort of gangster caught trying to make his/her escape. The children decide on the spur of the moment to use this car to take a drive to see the sea. What follows is an extraordinary film that observes these kids as they slowly make their way across dirt roads in the rough direction of the coast.
IMDB describes 'Thalassa Thalassa' as a 'family drama comedy'. I can only agree with the 'drama' tag. There are amusing moments in the way the children behave towards each other and their circumstances, but the humour is outweighed by the drama of their situation which is more desperate than they have the ability to realise. similarly, there is no way it could be described as a family film as, along the way, two of the children go missing presumed dead and the fate of all of them is unsure. It is, however an absorbing clever and gripping film that should not be missed.
