RESIDENTS EVIL

R.M.N. Cristian Mungiu gives his home country Romania a cinematic brain scan…

Matthias (Marin Grigore) returns from Germany to see his young son

In January 2020, in the Romanian village of Ditrăau, a largely ethnic Hungarian population of nearly 2,000 people signed a petition against the influx of Sri Lankans that had joined the local workforce. It was a shameful moment of xenophobia that immediately pricked the attention of Cristian Mungiu, the writer-director who shot to fame in the world-cinema arena with 2007’s Cannes-winning abortion drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.

‘I was sad, of course, that the people from that community had so little empathy for other people in need and were judging the situation based on stereotypes,’ he tells Teasers. ‘But at the same time, the incident, once made public, generated a huge counter reaction of sympathy for the foreign workers. So on the whole, the situation made me curious enough to investigate more about what are the causes of such behaviours which take place – and have always taken place – all over the world.’ The result is R.M.N., a film that sounds like a shortening of ‘Romania’ when in actual fact it’s a Romanian acronym for an MRI scan (which one of the characters undergoes). ‘The film aims to scan deeper down to reveal the causes that make us behave the way we do, and to offer a snapshot of the state of the world today,’ says Mungiu. ‘One in which fear, anxiety, suspicion and violence make us not be the superior, wise creatures we claim to be.’

While R.M.N. is an ensemble, at its core is Matthias (Marin Grigore), who returns from Germany to a Transylvanian village to reunite with his young son. He’s also looking to possibly rekindle a romance with Csilla (Judith State), who works at a bakery where several Sri Lankans have been employed. As Mungiu shows early on, when Matthias head-butts a co-worker for calling him a gypsy, racism is embedded everywhere.

‘He’s the victim of what most of the Romanians consider to be the greatest insult, but doesn’t show too much empathy for other victims of discrimination,’ sighs Mungiu.

‘A snapshot of the state of the world today’

CRISTIAN MUNGIU

It all culminates in one of the best scenes you’ll see in any movie this year, a 17-minute unbroken take as the villagers meet for a ‘town hall’ discussion about ejecting the immigrants. A 27-page scene, with 20 actors talking, Mungiu rehearsed it in one day and shot it in two, a remarkable achievement.

‘After each take, I was making necessary changes, and soon the actors knew what we needed,’ he explains. ‘But still, getting there was tough, given the level of precision needed. What I like about it is that, for some people, the scene feels as it was improvised or recorded with real people.’

R.M.N. IS IN CINEMAS FROM 22 SEPTEMBER. PICTUREHOUSE