Classic Romanian film about nothing. 40 minutes into the movie and no direction, conflict or character sense whatsoever. Just minutes of film passing by. Got about 250k Euro from the state to be develiped, though. Nice catch.
4 Reviews
Practically a movie about nothing
ragnarok-737-5391438 April 2021
Like the other review said, this is a movie about nothing. Movies about nothing are a romanian specialty, we are very good at this. Loooong booooring scenes about mundane things, trying so hard to be "artsy" and failing every single time. Let me give you a few examples... I would give you a heads up by saying "Warning. Spoilers ahead!", but a spoiler means revealing something about the story, which isn't the case here simply because there is no story. Ok so the examples: him cleaning his shotgun, him cleaning the windshield from something that looks like pigeon poo, him folding a milk carton, him waiting for the coffee machine to finish pouring a cup of coffee and so on. These scenes are long and there are many scenes like these... I mean if one would add up the scenes that are actually meaningful (and I'm very generous by using this word), you would end up with a 15 minute short movie. A bad short movie, but at least it would be honest. So to sum it up there is no story, no character development, no drama whatsoever, there's basically nothing, which is quite fitting for a movie about nothing.
Watch this movie-about-nothing
sps-7065918 August 2023
You can find this one for free on Romanian CINEPUB, at that rate, it's well worth a watch. It is classically Romanian cinema in its dry philosophy, we come in, we go out, there's no big epiphany. Ninety minutes flat, who makes 90 minute movies any more, in 2019?
But actually, Stefan's life has been completely turned upside down, when Nic's sudden death forces him to realise, what a deceiver his mate was, how much Nic's conned him, all his life in fact.
Does the director shout this at you? Nope, he almost deliberately looks straight ahead, or looks the other way. Stefan's enlightenment comes to him in slow degrees, in random moments of frustration with his wife, casual remarks from the accountant at work, fooling around with his rifle, oblique reveals from Nic's old friends.
Tonally, mood wise, Romanian cinema seems quite different to most European cinema, maybe the astringent Russian directors are an exception, like the guy who made Leviathan.
But actually, Stefan's life has been completely turned upside down, when Nic's sudden death forces him to realise, what a deceiver his mate was, how much Nic's conned him, all his life in fact.
Does the director shout this at you? Nope, he almost deliberately looks straight ahead, or looks the other way. Stefan's enlightenment comes to him in slow degrees, in random moments of frustration with his wife, casual remarks from the accountant at work, fooling around with his rifle, oblique reveals from Nic's old friends.
Tonally, mood wise, Romanian cinema seems quite different to most European cinema, maybe the astringent Russian directors are an exception, like the guy who made Leviathan.
A very subtle love triangle
starking-9838821 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of the best movies I have seen this year because it tells a simple story in a very profound way. It is a story of a mundane life that we the audience can sincerely relate to.
I, for one, am tired of the never ending batches of Hollywood blockbusters where the protagonist always miraculously escapes a rain of bullets and manages to keep a ridiculous sense of humour. We no longer live in the 80s.
The movie makers behind Zavera however, try too hard to impress us with certain camera work and an exaggerated obscurity. This and the lit phone mistake reduce my rating from 10 to 7 or 8. Phone screens must go dark when put to the ear during a phonecall.
SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen this movie do not read from here on.
Zavera is a story about three people: Stefan the honest and efficient man, Nic the charming and deceitful man, and Roxana the typical wife.
Although Nic is only in the movie for a couple of minutes, his presence continues and dominates throughout the whole movie.
Roxana is sad that Nic died, he was the man she was attracted to both emotionally and sexually like many other women. Roxana resents herself because like all the other women she was unable to tame Nic and instead she had to settle for Stefan the better father, the better husband, the better human being. Roxana resents herself for not being able to love and cherish her husband Stefan, and for not being able to be attracted to him sexually. She is struggling with the pains of remorse and depression.
Nic died unexpectedly. He lived a fearless life and did not even take his heart disease seriously. He felt like he was invincible. Women were attracted to Nic and men wanted to be around him. Nic lived a successful resourceful carefree life rejecting the idea of marriage and children, he was a wild horse that no woman could really tame. Normally for men like Nic, his business was plagued with deceit, turbulence, corruption and last-minute fixes. That's how charming and deceitful men like Nic strive, they suck the life out of everything they touch even their own business.
Before Nic died, Stefan lived in a bubble as Nic's business partner and friend since childhood. He believed that Nic and Roxana were just friends, he believed that Nic's business was doing well. Shortly after Nic's death, Stefan starts to deeply understand Nic the man, the charming and deceitful man that Stefan deeply despises. Yet, Stefan is in deep conflict with his own nature of being an honest, decent and orderly man. He secretly wishes he were actually more like Nic, a charming and deceitful man, a winner whose wife would desire him.
Stefan is a very good son, father, husband and business partner. He takes good care of his aging mother, he's very attentive to his children, and treats his wife with love and respect. At work Stefan is always looking for solutions, he's a problem solver. He wants things to work properly. Besides taking care of his household and his mother's household and health, Stefan is keen on being a modern man who uses the correct words, etc. His days are long and exhausting as many modern men would relate, he lives with a wife who refuses to have sex with him, and his only outlet is target shooting with a shotgun that was a present from his best friend and business partner Nic.
I, for one, am tired of the never ending batches of Hollywood blockbusters where the protagonist always miraculously escapes a rain of bullets and manages to keep a ridiculous sense of humour. We no longer live in the 80s.
The movie makers behind Zavera however, try too hard to impress us with certain camera work and an exaggerated obscurity. This and the lit phone mistake reduce my rating from 10 to 7 or 8. Phone screens must go dark when put to the ear during a phonecall.
SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen this movie do not read from here on.
Zavera is a story about three people: Stefan the honest and efficient man, Nic the charming and deceitful man, and Roxana the typical wife.
Although Nic is only in the movie for a couple of minutes, his presence continues and dominates throughout the whole movie.
Roxana is sad that Nic died, he was the man she was attracted to both emotionally and sexually like many other women. Roxana resents herself because like all the other women she was unable to tame Nic and instead she had to settle for Stefan the better father, the better husband, the better human being. Roxana resents herself for not being able to love and cherish her husband Stefan, and for not being able to be attracted to him sexually. She is struggling with the pains of remorse and depression.
Nic died unexpectedly. He lived a fearless life and did not even take his heart disease seriously. He felt like he was invincible. Women were attracted to Nic and men wanted to be around him. Nic lived a successful resourceful carefree life rejecting the idea of marriage and children, he was a wild horse that no woman could really tame. Normally for men like Nic, his business was plagued with deceit, turbulence, corruption and last-minute fixes. That's how charming and deceitful men like Nic strive, they suck the life out of everything they touch even their own business.
Before Nic died, Stefan lived in a bubble as Nic's business partner and friend since childhood. He believed that Nic and Roxana were just friends, he believed that Nic's business was doing well. Shortly after Nic's death, Stefan starts to deeply understand Nic the man, the charming and deceitful man that Stefan deeply despises. Yet, Stefan is in deep conflict with his own nature of being an honest, decent and orderly man. He secretly wishes he were actually more like Nic, a charming and deceitful man, a winner whose wife would desire him.
Stefan is a very good son, father, husband and business partner. He takes good care of his aging mother, he's very attentive to his children, and treats his wife with love and respect. At work Stefan is always looking for solutions, he's a problem solver. He wants things to work properly. Besides taking care of his household and his mother's household and health, Stefan is keen on being a modern man who uses the correct words, etc. His days are long and exhausting as many modern men would relate, he lives with a wife who refuses to have sex with him, and his only outlet is target shooting with a shotgun that was a present from his best friend and business partner Nic.
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