One Floor Below

PAST FILM SCREENING

May 25 – 2PM + 7:30PM

Romania / Sweden / France / Germany, 2015 – Rated 14A – 93 minutes
– in Romanian with English subtitles
Directed by Radu Muntean
Cast: Ionut Bora, Liviu Cheloiu, Calin Chirila

Sandu Patrascu is an ordinary Romanian citizen, living in a comfortable apartment in Bucharest. He has a good job (in the vehicle registration business), a wife (no-nonsense Olga), a teenage son (computer-obsessed Matei) and a (trained) dog. On the whole, he feels good about himself. One day though, he gets upset by an incident he is the witness of: a violent quarrel taking place on the other side of a female neighbor’s door. Worse, Vali, another neighbor, leaves the apartment while Sandu stands in the staircase listening. Even worse, Laura, the young woman he has heard shouting is found murdered. What will Patrascu do under such circumstances?

“Like a pot set to bubble only every few seconds, the drama is tightly measured to ensure a controlled level of tension that remains discreetly constant.” – Jay Weissberg, Variety

“The film takes a character who would be merely incidental in a more conventional film and uses him to construct a poignant meditation on responsibility, guilt and community.” – Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter