Tuesday, After Christmas

Paul loves two women. Adriana is his wife of ten years and the mother of his daughter; Raluca is his daughter's dentist and the woman who has made him redefine himself over recent months. Christmas is coming and Paul has to leave one of them. The film does not stage that decision as a great drama; it proceeds through shopping, meals, the daughter's dental appointment and family visits. Radu Muntean works in the known method of the Romanian New Wave: long unbroken takes, natural light, no score. The film's most cited scene is the one in which Paul tells his wife the truth, shot in a single take with no cut. Mimi Brănescu plays Paul, Mirela Oprișor his wife and Maria Popistașu Raluca. Oprișor and Brănescu are married in real life. Who it's for: Viewers who like the Romanian New Wave, realist cinema built on long takes, and marital drama. Who it's not for: Almost nothing happens and the pace is very slow. The film vindicates nobody, so anyone wanting a clear moral outcome will not find one.