The Treasure (2016)

You won't be disappointed!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

A man asks his neighbour to go and look for a treasure that his grand father would have hidden. They look for it. Thats basically the argument of the film, no more. And I won't be the one critizising a film just for being simple, there are many great simple films... but not this one. It was just not interesting. It was boring. And it was suposed to be a comedy (somehow), but I couldn't find any trace of comedy... I really wanted to like it, and I really thought I would, but nope.

Hard to tell what to make of "The Treasure". It was worthwhile and it was mildly entertaining. It was about just what the synopsis describes; two guys hire another guy who owns a metal detector to try to find 'treasure' they think is on the grounds of the estate of the great-grandfather of one of them. Turns out it was deeper than they thought, which adds digging time and running time to the picture.Eventually, they find it, but it's not treasure in the normal sense; it is a box of old stock certificates for Mercedes-Benz, which are now worth a fortune. There is a sweet moment at the end, as one of the men has a young son who was excited by the thought of treasure. Instead of showing him a stack of paper stocks, he cashes his half and buys some jewelry to fill the box, and gives it to the boy, who is overwhelmed at the sight. Of course, the jewelry is worth only a fraction of what the man has grossed for the stocks. Well, there you have it. I would say it's interesting, although not really a comedy, as it is billed. If it is, I would say the Romanian sense of humor is extremely subtle. Maybe a human interest story, as it holds the interest and is mercifully short at 89 minutes. There are no emotional highs or lows and no tension or suspense; for lack of a better term, it is a very calm picture. The cast were all very competent, no complaint there. It could have a little added excitement of some sort, but if you are thinking of seeing it you could do a lot worse nowadays. Speaking for myself, I liked it because it was simple and straightforward and held my interest. If you go, stay for the credits and you can hear one of the strangest songs ever, by one of the strangest voices; it's called "Life Is Life". Very peculiar.

I spent $7 to rent this on Amazon, based on flamboyant critical praise. The trailer looked promising, like a deadpan comedy. But it wasn't anything like I expected. It couldn't have been slower, duller, plodding. I appreciate the low-key naturalistic style that is European cinema, but in this case, it wasn't shedding much light on any internal journey. And being halted as a comedy? I often marvel when reviewers claim something is a comedy. Why? Because there may be slight nuances of humannature's foibles? There was not a moment that I was amused in a heightened comedicway. The basic plot line - that a neighbor enlists another neighborwith a possible buried treasure - takes near 90 minutes for negligible plot development. I like slow, non-Hollywood movies, but this was really SLOW. And reviewers hailed the transformative payoff in the last two minutes. But for me it was too little, too late. Not recommended. Just plodding.

Greetings again from the darkness. Cinematic comedies always face a challenge of the wide variances found in the senses of humor of movie goers. Taking a wry comedy approach narrows the market a bit more, and finally, tying in cultural and historical aspects specific to Romania risks leaving an audience of only the staunchest film festival attendees. Writer/director Corneliu Porumboui (12:08 East of Bucharest) sticks to his creative vision, never once catering to the masses.Costi (Toma Cuzin) is reading "Robin Hood" to his young son when a knock on the door leads to a conversation with his neighbor Adrian (Adrian Purcanescu). In most movies, theirs would be described as an awkward conversation, but in this world, awkward is normal, so the description doesn't really fit. However, the Robin Hood story acts a structure to the film, and especially to the actions and thought process of Costi, who fancies himself as a real life Robin Hood, even if it's possibly only to impress his bullied-at-school son.Adrian's pitch to Costi is meant to raise the 800 Euros necessary to hire a professional metal detector in hopes of finding the treasure buried by Adrian's great-grandfather during WWII. The stage is set for what looks to be the proverbial wild goose chase of an urban legend, but this partnership results in the introduction of Corneliu Cozmei, a real life metal detector professional. The conversation between these three during the dig is at times harsh and lacking any pleasantries … sometimes laden with accusations … and often tying in Romanian history from revolutions to wars and Communist control. It's here you're your particular sense of humor will either be rewarded or not. Viewers are treated to the somehow entertaining extended sequence of 3 men digging a hole whilst lighted by car headlights and accompanied by the beeping of the (flawed?) metal detector.The wry, deadpan comedy is often as uncomfortable as it is funny, and much of the negativity is directed at the bureaucracy of modern day Romania (and human nature in general), including the ridiculous "cultural heritage" fees of any found treasure. This leads to an offbeat scene at the local police station – again, either wry or boring, depending on you. If the viewers have trouble connecting with the characters or the dialogue, perhaps the closing song "Life is Life" (in a guttural performance from Lailbach) will prove to be the best explanation of what was just seen. Most of us can't name another Romanian comedy … and depending on taste, some will question whether this one qualifies, while others will be googling for more.