Malmkrog

Five people sit in a Transylvanian manor and talk for three and a half hours about war, progress, the moral condition of Europe and the Antichrist. Cristi Puiu drew the screenplay from the Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov's 1899 Three Conversations, keeping its cast: a general, a politician, a young prince, a lady, and a man identified only as Z. They speak French, with occasional lines in German, Russian and Hungarian. It was shot over forty days at the Apafi mansion in Malancrav, in Sibiu county. The camera rarely cuts, servants remain constantly in frame, and their second-class presence quietly undermines the debate. It won best director in the Berlinale's Encounters section. Who it is for: viewers who accept the argument of ideas as cinema and are untroubled by long takes. Who it is not for: anyone looking for incident, pace or character development.