Romanian film review – Dracula, Miriam Răducanu – Rigor and Sense, Internal Zero

I am a bit late to the party, but I have thoughts (and concerns) on Radu Jude’s much talked-about Dracula, and even more thoughts (and compliments) on other films that I fear might have gone under the radar a bit. Let’s go!

There is no more recognizable marketing asset for the local tourism (and no more kitschy) than Dracula. And so, it must have been a matter of time until prolific Radu Jude dug his mischievous teeth into this. And boy, does he go all in. His Dracula is irreverent, foul-mouthed, overlong, uneven, funny, childish, tacky, absorbing, annoying, often at the same time. The list of attributes could go on forever, as would a detailed synopsis of the film. In the interest of economy, I can sum it up as placing the count and the myth of the undead in various times and places of Romanian history, in 13 chapters.