ONE FLOOR BELOW
"Imagine a Romanian Rear Window in which the Jimmy Stewart figure has zero desire to see justice served." – The Dissolve
"Are you well acquainted with your neighbours?" a detective asks Patrascu after a woman is found dead in the apartment below his. He's not; however he did overhear an argument between the victim and another man from his building. Keeping this information to himself, he tries not to fall afoul of the likely perpetrator, but he's also troubled by his nagging conscience.
In his fifth feature, writer/director Radu Muntean (Tuesday, After Christmas, MIFF 2011; The Paper Will Be Blue, MIFF 2008; Boogie, MIFF 2008) continues to probe the air of distrust so pivotal to Romania's New Wave of social realist filmmaking. His twist on the murder-mystery genre finds tension in everyday interactions and deadpan humour in banality, while presenting a puzzle about truth and morality.