Cannes Film Fest 2022–R.M.N., a densely layered social parable from director Cristian Mungiu, the director of Cannes Palme d’Or winner, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.
Mungiu named the film after a Romanian acronym for nuclear magnetic resonance, based on his intent to make “an investigation of the brain, a brain scan trying to detect things below the surface.”
Written and directed by Mungiu, the tale is set in a multi-ethnic village in Transylvania, Romania, during the 2019–20 holiday season.
The film centers on a man who returns from Germany and his ex-lover who works in the village.
Told in the cool, steady-handed style, R.M.N. is set in rural Romanian town, where the manager of a bakery sparks controversy when she hires two South Asian immigrants to help her at the factory.
She has no choice, since none of the locals will take such low-paying jobs, but that doesn’t stop the angry, openly racist villagers from protesting, revolting, and acting on their hatred.
Mungiu lets the characters speak for themselves, shooting heated objections at a town hall meeting over the course of a long, fixed-camera sequence, during which the different opinions and values devolved for the worst.
Mungiu offers a chilling story of bigots who don’t hesitate for a second to wear giant bear costumes in order to threaten unwanted outsiders and the unlikely heroes who challenge them.
The film premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Fest in May 2022.
In May 2022, IFC Films acquired the American rights ahead of the premiere.
Cast
Marin Grigore as Matthias
Judith State as Csilla
Macrina Bârlădeanu as Ana
Orsolya Moldován as Mrs. Dénes
Andrei Finți as Papa Otto
Mark Blenyesi as Rudi
Ovidiu Crișan as Mr. Baciu
Cristian Mungiu Filmography
Occident (2002)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
Tales from the Golden Age (2009)
Beyond the Hills (2012)
Graduation (2016)
R.M.N. (2022)
