By Roger Costa
I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS
During the rehearsals of a theater production narrating the Odessa tragedy, where thousands of Jews were killed by Romanian fascists, the director learns she’s pregnant. Overwhelmed with the production, the selection of efficient actors, as well as investigating and collecting accurate material, she’s the definitive representation of female empowerment. A mirror for the director himself, Radu Jude, the actress introduces herself to the camera in the opening sequence, announcing the film’s intention: blending fiction and documentary, as both productions merge as one. Her strong personality permeates the narrative, as she battles obstacles with society, authorities, politicians, artists, historians and her own lover, in order to accomplish both professional and personal success. Ioana Iacob is fabulous, hilarious and charming as the protagonist, in her breakthrough comedic performance.
Following his acclaimed, award-winning films “Aferim!” and “Sacred Hearts”, Radu Jude paints a sarcastic, bitter-sweet and deeply personal canvas of his country reflecting on the political crisis as a result of their participation on WWII. Meticulously crafted with sensitive observations on the protagonist’s reactions to every imposition blocking her way through her goals, the narrative develops a direct connection with the audience, grabbing the attention with smart, insightful dialogue and confrontations on philosophies and history, stirring up controversy with sharp commentary on gender-equality and how the same fact is seen through different perspectives and morals.
Winner of the Crystal Globe for Best Film at Karlovy Vary Film Festival, and the Grand Prix at Minsk, “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians” refers to the words spoken in the Council of Ministers of the Summer of 1941, starting the ethnic cleansing on the Eastern Front. Darkly funny, fearless, utterly organic, and convincingly performed, the film also subtly alerts to the transformations in society, as the tragedies and behavior from the past, re-surge to contaminate the present generation, creating a modernized version of fascism in some regimes.
(Big World Pictures. 7/19. IFC Center NYC. 7/26. Laemmle’s Monica L.A.)
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