Popular reviews

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  Review by nick ★★★

  One Floor Below examines the dynamics inside an apartment building after a tenant was mysteriously murdered. A middle-aged man with a show dog and a son who sleepwalks faces a moral dilemma, eventually letting horror seep into his own household. This is not my favorite from Radu Muntean, but I still appreciate its moments of brilliance.

  An ultra-realistic insight into a man plagued with guilt and paranoia, One Floor Below features a highly restrained Teodor Corban at the center, navigating his mundane daily life interrupted by a dead neighbor, Known for his beating around the bush style, Muntean documents events around the actual murder, forming an ambiguous picture that's more than enough to echo the theme but less than enough to leave a lasting impression.

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  Review by Avirup

  Romanian New Wave's realism and the commitment to mundane obviously stand out. Kinda puzzling in the end and little too subtle to be fully effective as a morality play but general genre work is solid. Also features one of the most realistic fight scenes I've seen.

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  Review by Chad Eberle ★★★½

  ONE FLOOR BELOW: Just when you thought Romanian "wait for it" non-thrillers couldn't make the wait any longer & the "it" any slighter...

  (I liked it.)

  67

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  Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★

  Thriller mechanics remain one of the better uses of Romanian literalism. It helps Muntean sense of drama is sharper than most of his patriots.

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  Review by preston ★★★★

  Muntean's sense of everyday rhythm is uncanny; Romanian movies have a knack (Iran does it too) for people having long, prosaic, oddly compelling conversations where they figure stuff out - but it's also a question of knowing what to look at, and how long to look; every detail seems to be its own little story, from the way our hero cups water in his hands for his dog to drink to the way his face becomes immobile after every answer when he's lying to the cops (or being economical with the truth). The mystery at the heart of the film - why he stays silent, and whether it's because it's "your business" or some more deep-seated guilt (why does he…

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  Review by shookone ★★½

  muntean already did it better than here, though sticks to the roots of the new romanian cinema by interconnecting a moral question with social commentary and genre techniques. those get the short end of the stick though, as they create the thrill, just to uphold them, without - of course - a carthatic moment to relieve. all in all a fine concept, but 20 minutes too long due to standardize the film for cinema and television.

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  Review by José Agustín

  Tal vez no entendí bien la película, o tal vez sea la poca conexión que sentí con el protagonista. No es explícita al mostrar el dilema que desarrolla en su cabeza, se puede intuir bastante bien y sin complicaciones, pero todo hace que se sienta un poco aburrida en algunas partes. Aunque eso es parte de la cotidianidad del personaje y de lo que se quiere mostar, siento que no está resultando.

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  Review by Fake Shemp

  Watched over a few days on my breaks at work, rather splendid.

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  Review by Keith Watson ★★★½

  Why does Sandu keep quiet? This question is the real dramatic engine of “One Floor Below” and it lends a sense of suspense to even the blandest scenes of Sandu going about his boring job—he owns a small business helping people sort their vehicle registration (a kind of capitalist update to the stereotype of labyrinthine Soviet bureaucracy?). Eventually, Vali starts showing up unannounced at Sandu’s apartment, seeking out Sandu’s help with his own car registration, which creates another mystery: Why is Vali insinuating himself into the life of the man who suspects him of murder?

  Neither of these mysteries gets a clear resolution, and yet it is a testament to the precision and psychological realism of Muntean’s approach that “One…

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  Review by Felicia Chaidez ★★★

  Ultimately, biggest shortcoming of "Un etaj mai jos" is a lackluster approach to a thrilling premise.

  Quiet, family-oriented Patrascu lets his curiosity get the best of him one day when he eavesdrops on a domestic quarrel in his apartment building, only to later discover that said quarrel ended in a crime of passion. The suspicious killer then proceeds to become friendly with Petrascu and his family in order to uphold his reputation.

  Director Radu Muntean's treats the conflict with a rather reserved interest, which ultimately renders any psychological and moral conflicts the central character is facing too muted to be of much interest. While the film opens strong with the introduction to the murder and the neighbor's initial snooping, the…

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  Review by sefalacaini ★★★½

  cum sa ai sonerie cu ceausescu strigand alo.

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  Review by Foxy Sabra ★

  It took over 40 minutes to get to the point. In a Hollywood movie, it takes 5 minutes. In a British movie it can take 10 to 15 minutes. Only those are people who pay for the film they put forward. In this case, it's the taxpayer who pays, and the Ministry of Culture is doing its blessed duty of increasing the Culture output per acre.