Everybody in Our Family

Radu Jude delivers on the promise of his first feature, The Happiest Girl in the World, with this superb black comedy.

With The Happiest Girl in the World, Radu Jude revealed himself as a promising participant in the remarkable rise of the ‘new Romanian cinema’. With this, his superb second feature, that promise is more than fulfilled. The acting’s spot-on, the tonal shifts skilfully executed, the claustrophobic tension almost unbearable. A frighteningly credible study of human interaction.

Things begin peacefully enough as thirty-something Marius awakens and readies himself to accompany five-year-old daughter Sofia – who lives with his estranged wife Otilia, her grandmother and Otilia’s new partner – on a long-arranged trip to the beach. But when he’s told, upon arrival at their apartment, that Sofia’s unwell and must stay at home, he refuses to take no for an answer – or leave... What ensues is an extraordinary rollercoaster ride for our emotions, with the virtually real-time narrative alternating between black comedy and suspense as the arguments spiral violently out of control. The acting’s spot-on, the tonal shifts skilfully executed, the claustrophobic tension almost unbearable. A frighteningly credible study of human interaction.