When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism: New York Film Festival 2013

Corneliu Porumboiu made two of the most rewarding films to come out of the Romanian New Wave—the deadpan political satire 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006) and the cryptically antidramatic cop thriller Police, Adjective (2009). Sad to say, his third feature is more headache than heady, a stoic and simplistic parody of moviemaking about a gastrically-distressed (or so he says) director (Bogdan Dumitrache) and the performer (Diana Avramut) he’s romancing. The film is comprised of only 18 shots (each a meticulous, often tedious long take) and features lengthy discussions between the duo on topics ranging from the differences between film and digital to the authenticity of a nude scene they’re supposed to shoot. It’s like a meandering 90-minute lecture that leaves you with little more than glazed eyes and a sore backside. Click for showtimes.—Keith Uhlich

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