RFF 2023: R.M.N.

The Transylvanian town of Recia (Récfalva in Hungarian) appears to be the very model of social inclusion. Romanians, Hungarians, Germans and Roma all live side by side in what seems like perfect harmony. But when a local bakery employs Sri Lankans to make up for a lack of interest from local workers, prejudices and petty recriminations surface, which gradually tear the community apart.

Cristian Mungiu’s provocative drama blows apart notions of multiculturalism with a scathing indictment of how fractured modern life has become. Just as he previously explored corrosion within the family (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), the church (Beyond the Hills) and seats of power (Graduation), with R.M.N. Mungiu presents a large-scale, state-of-the-nation portrait that both ranks alongside his earlier films and is also the summation of them. It is a riveting, chilling and brilliant work by one of contemporary cinema’s mast filmmakers.

Writer-director Cristian Mungiu will introduce the film and take part in a Q&A following the screening.