By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Ivana Mladenovic
Starring: Alexandru Mititelu | Dragomir Christian George | Israila Jamir | Papan Chilibar
Original language title: Lumea in patratele
Country: romania
Year: 2012
Running time: 77
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294923/
Bruce says: “Director Ivana Mladenovic admits that the genesis of her film began as a narrative feature film crew got permission to film in a prison using inmates as actors. Although she did not go into detail, that venture fell apart and evolved into TURN OFF THE LIGHTS which mixes film from both efforts but does not distinguish one from the other. That in itself is not a horrible thing but Mladenovic has accumulated her errors, which add up to a dismal filmmaking effort.
“TURN OFF THE LIGHTS begins with three inmates in a Romanian prison all of whom are being released. We are given a glimpse of life behind bars. The inmates support one another and share camaraderie unlike what is seen in any American prison films. The Iranian film DAYBREAK is the only other film which documents such prison culture. Although it is based on a true story, DAYBREAK is a narrative film.
“All three are charming and sexy which confuses the issue because it makes us like them more than we should. All three have amazing wardrobes, jewelry, cell phones and other amenities. It is unclear whether all three are Roma; certainly Christian George is. The camera follows all three then mysteriously zeroes in on Alex who has served four years for murdering his girlfriend when he was fourteen years of age. Israila died shortly after his release of an unspecified disease and Christian ended up back in prison so that explains why they disappear from the screen. The film does not explain why the two of them were in prison but the filmmaker told the audience that one was there for street fighting and the other, for stealing. The filming was done over a three year period which is also not made clear for the viewer.
“There is no context in the film; it’s as though Mladenovic were influenced by the Warhol films of the 60s. We learn nothing about Romanian institutions or the culture that puts teenagers behind bars but does nothing to rehabilitate them. We do not know if these boys are treated differently than other Romanian citizens.
“We see the three boys interact with family and friends once they are released. Israila has a young daughter who has no idea who he is and runs from him as she would a stranger. Christian has an extended gypsy family that parties in the streets, bars and houses. Christian has a wife and several girlfriends all of whom he contacts for hook-ups. He also has a small son. Alex lives with his grandparents who he verbally tortures. Christian and Alex treat women as though they were acting out lyrics of some misogynist rapper. Women are all bitches and whores and they get slapped around a lot. Many nasty sexual references are made specifically to demean them. The women laugh, blush and fend off the physical abuse but it is impossible not to imagine the abuse ratcheting up several notches once the young boys are behind closed doors with no camera to document their activities. Fortunately no American teenagers are likely to see this film for I fear that they might find some of this behavior acceptable, if not downright cool. 1.5 cats
“(TURN OFF THE LIGHTS screened as part of the 2012 Tribeca International film Festival.)”