The Rest Is Silence (2008)

Nice effects though.

Beautiful, moving film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

it could be another successful film of a special Romanian director. or the return of Romanian cinema to the historical genre. or occasion to see great actors in impeccable performances. or, just, a different film. but its virtue is the status of beautiful homage. to film. to sacrifice of few idealist people. to a slice of Romania modernity. to figures who looking for change everything. it is a basket with stories. love, humor, dramas. and the beginning of Romanian cinema. the same flavor of films and making of and clashes between different visions. for me, "Restul e tăcere" has two fundamental virtues : the original portrait of the king Carol I, the splendid presence of Ioana Bulcă. and , sure, the impeccable atmosphere.

Or, of course, half empty. I had been waiting for a while for this movie. Really liked Nae Caranfil's other films - especially his last one, Filantropica, a dark and cynical comedy that manages to be both original, funny and thought-provoking. Now, this one is different. Not that it's bad - but it's "serious". It's about the first (or one of the first) movies ever made in Romania, about the war of independence with the Turks. The action is set in 1911, and the events depicted in the "film in the film" had happened some 35 years earlier.The film does avoid the most basic traps - like being overly patriotic. But in my opinion it does not avoid the "folklore" reconstitution of the early 20th century Bucharest. It has all the expected clichés all Romanians know about - like Bucharest supposedly being then a "little Paris". It has some standard characters - "the young idealist", "the hot actress", "the patron of the arts", ... none of which are very believable. It has some pretty heavy metaphors - the "hot actress" gets sprinkled with water twice in the movie, only to die in a fire towards the end ... come on...It also has its good moments. I liked the old generals quarreling about who arrived first on the battle scene, and loved the scene with the King to whom in is explained that the film's director is a kind of an accountant! Another one I liked was the projection of the Independence movie - a bunch of elderly gentlemen in fancy suits getting all excited watching the battle scenes, almost like at a soccer game!I could have ended right there. Unfortunately, it did not - it goes on for another half hour, probably to provide information about the fate of the "film in the film" and of those who made it. And the very last scene nails it to the ground - an actor saying "the rest is silence". Could have included himself in that...So, overall, a disappointment, maybe because I was expecting too much.

Well first of all I like the title : it is very suggestive , very theatrical . This movie is a needed change of rhythm in the Romanian cinema because it is depicting an episode of pioneering cinema in Romania . The year is 1912 but INDEPENDENCE WAR do not forget : is not the very first Romanian movie , maybe it is the first historical movie , even from the historical point of view the real UNION came in 1918 with Basarabia and Transilvania joining Valahia and Moldova ...but we are getting too much into national history .That era depicted in film is when Bucharest was opening more to European influences and especially french culture , it later became LITTLE Paris and it was not an exaggeration at all. French was spoken by aristocrats , intellectuals , artists and even common people. Of course the movie is got a lot of comic moments , we are Romanians N'EST CE PAS ? Do not forget also that haughty people they despised cinema , they preferred theater . I know they we're right but , let's get over it . Cinema was incredible cheap , even in those days , it was a sort of entertainment for low social classes , for the mob . But of course in time people they changed up minds , it is to admire the passion the people involved in this project they sacrifice to see their dream come true . Also it is showing us how VOLATILE and transient the films are ......they burn so easily .I enjoyed watching this movie , and is a nice feeling to know that they are still people who cares about CINEMA .

just saw the movie. In a cinema theater. Sunday morning, only four people in the audience, myself included. I'm blown away. here, normally, I would have added only another sentence to this post - but the IMDb rules state a post must have a minimum 10 lines. so I might write that this is not just a movie. It's a tribute to all movie makers, of all times. It's a tribute to all the people passionate enough with an idea to be able to follow it until the very end. A tribute to those few people that do not sell their soul, or their ideals. In a way, one might read it as Caranfil's manifesto. but ignore all the above. Ignore all the comments. Just go see the movie. It speaks for itself better than anybody ever could. the rest is silence.