I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians, written and directed by Radu Jude - 8 out of 10

I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians, written and directed by Radu Jude
8 out of 10


Radu Jude has won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, together with many other trophies, for his acclaimed, wonderful Aferim, which is arguably better than I Do Not Care...

Nonetheless, the latest creation of the talented writer-director has been met with almost universal acclaim.
The motion picture has an enviable 81 out of 100 Metascore, with The Los Angeles Times giving it 90, for a 'brilliantly multi faced picture'.

Variety is equally enthused by 'a film that leaves you smarter'.
Indeed, who am I to argue with those and other enthusiastic experts...

Although this viewer has been less elated than the above, I must admit that the feature is educational, thought provoking, accurate, complex, albeit is seems chaotic, covering too much ground with what looks like feeble forces at times.
If Ioana Iacob is laudable for her efforts in the leading role of the director Maria, I for one have been annoyed by Alex Bogdan as Traian.

The latter actor had already made a negative impression when he presented the local Oscars, therefore this might be a case of bias and prejudice, even if he looked rather inadequate for a complicated part.
Like most - almost all? - natives, I have had no idea that our country played such an abominable role in the first part of World War II.

I mean the participation in the pogroms was clear and when a politician denied it recently it caused a scandal.
However, the scale is overwhelming!

The film talks about the fact that we have been second only to the Nazis in the role of butchers of Jews, Gipsies and other minorities.
This horrible issue is at the center of the movie which shows the regular man, who doesn't know about this, the fringes, with lunatics that support the marshal that caused the atrocities and various officials and leaders.

The title of the film itself is a quote from a Council of Ministers where they said they don't care if they act as barbarians and that's how they would behave.
This fundamental problem has not been solved, people are unaware of it, they are as ignorant as possible and think that the country has fought the fascists...which it did, but only for the last months of the conflict.


If we would only take this crucial theme and this film would become so important as to list it in the curriculum.
On that level, from that perspective, schools should get classes to the cinema, or have passages from the movie shown at history lessons...

Alas, many would just talk about the valiant, perfect nation and disavow, deny that this awful massacre ever took place.