Movies about moviemaking don’t come much drier than this new one from Romania. It has the usual elements of backstage stories—the director is sleeping with a cast member, professional rivalry rears its head, the movie’s gone over budget—but When Evening Falls approaches these things in an extremely off-center way. We never do see the film set (although the closing sequence takes place inside a makeup trailer that is presumably near the shooting), and the only actual footage we glimpse is from the director’s endoscopy. He’s been suffering from gastritis and . . . oh, it’s hard to explain.
Like Birdman, that recent gem of behind-the-scenes intrigue, this movie has a curious subtitle. “Metabolism” could refer to the acid reflex of the self-absorbed director Paul (Bogdan Dumitrache), or to the peculiar biorhythms of filmmaking itself. We know early on that Paul is having an affair with up-and-coming actress Alina (Diana Avramut), whose role has been built up accordingly. He’s added a nude scene for her; and over the course of a handful of very slow scenes, they workshop this new sequence. His ideas make him sound like a pompous blowhard who doesn’t actually know why he’s staging his movie scene this way; among other things, this is a film about the creative process getting tangled up in passive-aggressive ego. Deliciously, Paul then experiences exactly the same kind of scene in their intimate life, and has a revelation—or just a knee-jerk reaction—that changes her role and their relationship.
Although it sneaks up on its material in a sideways fashion, this is actually quite a funny film, if you think long pauses during awkward conversation over Chinese food are funny. Writer/director Corneliu Porumboiu (Police, Adjective) is one of the leaders of the ongoing film movement from Romania. He introduces this movie’s method in the opening sequence, as Paul pontificates about the value of long, unbroken camera takes in capturing the reality of life. This 89-minute movie will itself consist of those long takes, which suggests that Porumboiu is poking fun at his own style (the style of so many Romanian movies, like the great The Death of Mr. Lazarescu) while also proving himself an expert at executing it. This is a small movie, but on its own terms—and with many long pauses—it’s quite amusing.
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WHEN EVENING FALLS ON BUCHAREST, OR METABOLISM Runs Fri., Jan. 30–Thurs., Feb. 5 at Grand Illusion. Not rated. 89 minutes.
