Cristian Mungiu, the brilliant Romanian director, whose 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days had won the Cannes Film Fest top award, has made another searing social drama.
His new film, aptly titled Graduation, unfolds as a two generational family drama, focusing on a father who is forced into extreme behavior, which violates his own personal ethics and value system, in order to shape a brighter future for his daughter.
Romeo Aldea (Adrian Titieni) is a seemingly honest doctor who regrets having settled in his native Romania, a country defined by corruption and back dealings.
Romeo channels his ambitions for a better life into his teenage daughter, Eliza (Maria Dragus), who has to take just one more exam away in order to secure a scholarship to a prestigious British university.
When Eliza is attacked on the eve of her test, endangering her ability to pass, Romeo takes matters into his own hands to ensure her success.
Mungiu, who deservedly won the Cannes Film Fest Best Director prize, has made a critical social expose about the complex moral decision and ethical compromises that people are forced to make when their range of choice is limited by forces that are behind their control.
Unfortunately, the film did not find the theatrical audience it deserved when released by Sundance Selects in April 2017. Despite excellent reviews, the film has earned a meager $175,975 at the box-office, but it is available now on DVD and streaming.
