- Actors: Toma Cuzin, Adrian Purcarescu
- Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
- Disc Format: Anamorphic, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: Romanian
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: MPI Home Video
- Release Date: September 19, 2017
- Run Time: 89 minutes
Some foreign
films are universally relatable, dealing with themes and scenarios that cross
language barriers without trouble. The
Treasure seems to have one of these premises, as who among us has never
fantasized about finding a treasure in our backyard capable of eliminating all
money troubles from our life. It isn’t the premise that is hard to relate to in
The Treasure, however, but the tone
of the film. Sold as a comedy, the wry humor of the Romanian film industry is
likely to be lost on those unfamiliar with this style.
The film starts
by showing us the daily life of a modern Romanian family, focusing on a husband
and father named Costi (Toma Cuzin). Although their family is making enough to
get by, Costi is willing to risk debt when presented with an opportunity to
find riches buried in his neighbor’s family plot. While reading “Robin Hood” to
his young son one evening, his neighbor Adrian (Adrian Purcarescu) stops by
with an urgent request to borrow money. After Costi informs the neighbor that
he has no money to spare, Adrian leaves, only to return moments later with a
proposal. If Costi agrees to provide the money to rent a professional metal
detector, he will split the treasure that is rumored to be buried on his family
land.
Despite
sincerely lacking the funds, Costi begins to make arrangements to raise the
money. He is so eager to find riches that Costi begins to risk what he has for
what they might find. This includes putting off paying bills as well as lying
to his boss in order to spend the work day finding the lowest price for a metal
detector. When he is caught by his boss, Costi is forced to lie a second time
about having an affair when his boss doesn’t believe his explanation about
buried treasure, in one of the film’s few scenes of obvious humor. This is the
kind of uncomfortable humor that Romanian cinema is best known for, though
those who are unaccustomed to the style may struggle to see what is so funny.
The awkward (and
occasionally confrontational) humor continues on the actual hunt for treasure,
which takes up a large portion of the run-time. Costi and the endlessly
pessimistic Adrian are joined by metal detector operator Cornel (Corneliu
Cozmei), who doesn’t appreciate the negativity, which becomes directed at him
when there is trouble with the equipment and the discovery of the treasure does
not happen quickly enough. Costi remains focused on digging, stopping only to
play mediator between the two bickering men. Underlying the entire endeavor is
the fact that the government’s “cultural heritage” rule may mean a majority of
what they find could be confiscated, adding in a bit of scathing social
commentary to the mix.
There is a mild
punchline to end the film, fitting for the anticlimactic nature of the narrative.
The entire experience is somewhat underwhelming, especially for those
unaccustomed to the pace and style of Romanian cinema, enhanced even more by
our own expectation of a story involving buried treasure. Even the prize that
is discovered subverts expectations, especially those of Costi’s Robin
Hood-loving son. Buried within this film is social commentary in the form of
dark comedy. While the commentary may be fairly clear, even to those unaware of
Romania’s tumultuous history, many viewers may find that they have to dig
deeper than expected to find the humor.
The DVD has no
special features.
Entertainment Value:
5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 0/10
1 comment:
Some of the underwater metal detectors can adjust the search depth. using a metal detector In some of these magazines, you can even find tests conducted on certain models of metal detectors.
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