Sieranevada

Romanian New Wave leader Cristi Puiu continues to blend the personal and the political to arresting effect in this sprawling, drolly comic family portrait that doubles as an existential X-ray of contemporary Romanian society. In a cramped apartment in Bucharest, a family gathers for a memorial for their recently deceased patriarch. As they wait for the priest to arrive, discussions about everything from the legacy of Communism to 9/11 conspiracy theories spiral into arguments—before the arrival of an uninvited guest throws the commemoration into further turmoil.