Tales From The Golden Age review

Life under a Romanian dictator is not without its humour

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Five Tales to be exact, in a portmanteau film devised, produced and written by Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days).

Set during the final 15 years of Nicolae Ceausescu’s dictatorship, these Romanian ‘urban legends’ explore with rich absurdist humour how ordinary citizens coped under his totalitarian thumb.

Food, or the lack of, is a recurrent theme here – and in the stand-out tale, an unhappily married poultry farm driver (Vlad Ivanov) risks everything for the sake of fresh eggs.

Golden Age is compassionate and keenly observed and, unusually for an anthology, there’s no weak link in the line-up.