Tales from the Golden Age

The darkest days under dictator Nicolae Ceausescu are recalled with ironic nostalgia in this ribald collection of urban myths. The brainchild of Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), the five vignettes are directed by - and credited collectively to - himself and four first-time feature-makers. The standout is the opener, "The Legend of the Official Visit", in which residents of a rural community strain to accommodate the requests of the apparatchiks organising a fleeting inspection by some Communist dignitaries. "The Legend of the Party Photographer" also amuses in recalling the pressure placed on the media to put the most positive spin on the regime's every deed. But both "The Legend of the Chicken Driver" and "The Legend of the Air Sellers" linger on the theme of cheating the system, while "The Tale of the Greedy Policeman" is merely a shaggy dog story. As with all portmanteau films, the whole is somewhat patchy. But the incidents are linked by a keen appreciation of the fear, suspicion, confinement, corruption and venality that blighted daily life for most Romanians in the 1970s and 80s.