Politist, adjectiv (2009)

A police officer refuses to arrest a young man for offering drugs to his friends.

Director:

Corneliu Porumboiu

Writer:

Corneliu Porumboiu

Stars:

Dragos Bucur, Vlad Ivanov, Ion Stoica

15 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dragos Bucur	...	Cristi
Vlad Ivanov	...	Anghelache
Ion Stoica	...	Nelu
Irina Saulescu	...	Anca
Cerasela Trandafir	...	Gina
Marian Ghenea	...	Prosecutor
Cosmin Selesi	...	Costi
Serban Georgevici	...	Sica
George Remes	...	Vali (as Remes George)
Adina Dulcu	...	Dana
Dan Cogalniceanu	...	Gica
Costi Dita	...	Officer on Duty
Alexandru Sabadac	...	Alex
Anca Diaconu	...	Doina
Radu Costin	...	Victor

Storyline

In grim, dull Vaslui, Cristi is a young police officer, conscientious, laconic, recently married to Anca, a teacher. He's tailing a kid who smokes pot and may be supplying his friends. Cristi dislikes the assignment: the kid's clearly not a dealer, an arrest would ruin his life, and, Cristi assumes that Romania will soon tolerate marijuana. His superior tells him flatly that the law is the law and to finish the case with a quick arrest. Cristi wants to follow the informant, a youth whose father is a builder. Cristi watches, he smokes, he writes reports, he wants to meet with the prosecutor. Can a cop have a conscience? Is the noun being modified "procedural" or "state"?

---

Plot Keywords:

police | police officer | marijuana | prosecutor | romania | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

Romania's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010.

---

Connections

Spin-off La Gomera (2019)

---

Soundtracks

Nu te parasesc iubire
Performed by Mirabela Dauer
Arranged by Dan Dimitriu
Lyrics by Dan Ioan Pantoiu
Produced by Roton Music
Played and discussed at Cristi's home

User Reviews

Police, subjective.

In "Police, Adjective", Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu devotes himself to the story of a small town cop reluctant of busting a minor for endorsing hashish with friends. Although vague at first, we learn that the civil police Cristi is having an unease conscience about nailing the young man, which may inflict seven years in prison for what Cristi believes to be a petty crime that will – soon enough – be looked upon more liberated. Throughout pic we follow his daily routines and interactions in the downbeat and austere town of Vaslui, including scenes of parodic bureaucracy and laudable lengthy takes.

"Police, Adjective" is admittedly in many ways difficult to interpret. The first half of the film deals with classic police work (classic as in reality, not classic as in previously depicted on film) including Cristi's pursuit of suspects and filing reports. For an audience used to clustered action flicks, this may seem as tedious and unbearable to endure. From a more objective perspective, I find it somewhat original and daring. This course of the film is harmless, it is on the contrary a certain, yet inevitable cul-de-sac initiated by a mere typo, that pushes it in a slightly too academic stand. On the other hand, it could also be considered an ironic twist when deciding how Cristi's moral dilemmas should be solved.

One of the more unfortunate aspects of Porumboiu's directing, in particular substantial for "Police, Adjective" but nonetheless equally visible in previous film "12:08 East of Bucharest", is that the (black) humor sometimes may appear so subtle that when juxtaposed to foreigners it can be completely lost (in translation.)

Watching Porumboiu's battle between an objective and supreme law versus Cristi's subjective conscientious law is evidently quite fascinating, despite being a bit too submissive at times.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Romania

Language:

Romanian

Release Date:

3 July 2009 (Romania)

Also Known As:

Police, Adjective

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

EUR800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,452, 27 December 2009

Gross USA:

$53,206

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$162,974

Company Credits

Production Co:

42 Km Film, Periscop Film, Racova

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1