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THE JAPANESE DOG Send This Review to a Friend
Like other fine films we have been getting lately from Romania, “The Japanese Dog,” showcased in the 2014 New Directors/New Films series and only now in commercial released, gains from restraint in its telling. Victor Rebengiuc plays the elderly widower Costache Moldu in a village that had been hit by a flood, which claimed the life of his wife. He is depicted going through the daily routine of his life, relating to various villagers as best he can, but asserting independence and pride.
Drama builds when his son, his Japanese wife and their young son arrive from abroad for a visit. Moldu and his son have been estranged. Now they have the opportunity to get to know one another better again, and Moldu also becomes enamored with his young grandchild. He and his daughter-in-law also get along despite the cultural gap.
The beauty of the film lies in the quiet way it goes about telling the story. We are immersed in detail and gradually the film takes shape into one in which everything adds up to a view of village life, the central characters and the course eventually taken.
This delicate achievement, so smoothly directed by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, renders the film outstanding and very satisfying. The excellent screenplay was written by Jurgiu, Iona Antoci and Gabriel Gheorghe. Reviewed May 21, 2015.
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