Set in early 19th century Wallachia, Romania, a policeman, Costandin, is hired by a nobleman to find a Gypsy slave who has run away from his estate after having an affair with his wife.
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CinemaSerf
7
By CinemaSerf
When the Boyar (Alexandru Dabija) finds that one of his Gypsy serfs has done a bunk, he employs law keeper "Costandin" (Teodor Corban) to track him down. It seems that the fleeing "Carfin" (Toma Cuzin) had become just a little too friendly with his bosses wife, and so there's a price to be paid! Along the way, we are exposed to some of the vagaries of 19th century Romanian life - a largely peasant existence for most with it's roots steeped in a feudal hierarchy. It's quite an adventure the policeman and his son "Ionita" (Mihai Comanoiu) have as they encounter various communities and their traditions before apprehending and repatriating their quarry. The story itself has a certain inevitability to it, but I don't think that really matters. This is really a much more potent evaluation of a society governed by people who felt themselves worthy of a pat on the back for not whipping their "slaves". Their lordly kindness was seen in terms of them generously feeding and clothing their people as if they were mere chattels - and none more so than those from the Romany community. It's not without it's humour - there are some distinctly dark moments designed to effectively lighten the mood. Even with subtitles, this manages to convey enough of the potency of the dialogue for us to appreciate the evolution in character of "Costantin", his son and develop our own awareness of the established persecution that prevailed. It's an entertaining film, too, with plenty of action going on and it is well worth a watch.
