Aferim! is a stylized black-and-white period dramedy from Romania, expertly helmed by Radu Jude, who won the Best Director kudo at the 2016 Berlin Film Fest.
The story centers on a 19th-century magistrate (well played by Teodor Corban) who is sent by a local landowner to track down the gypsy who had slept with his wife.
He joins forces with a young servant boy, Ionita (Mihai Comănoiu), and the strange couple go through various adventures as they navigate through 1800s Wallachia, a landscape of feudalism, traveling circuses, sleazy taverns and long-held racism.
Part comedy western, part commentary on past traditions, part anatomy of contemporary Romanian mores, Aferim! is a highly original blend of tales, characters and tones that veer from the satirical to the ironic to the heavily serious.