Closer to the Moon

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Closer to the Moon

Studio: Sundance Selects
Directed by Nae Carnfil

Apr 20, 2015 By Sarah Winshall Web Exclusive

Like so many films “based on a true story,” Closer to the Moon is an unremarkable reenactment of a remarkable story. Unfortunately, in this case the story isn’t told very well. An already semi-complicated tale—ousted Romanian Jewish Communists get even through a real heist that is veiled as a fake film shoot and reenacted for a real propaganda film in order to support the Communist agenda—is further complicated by an unnecessarily convoluted narrative style.

In what seems like a sloppy attempt at coy creativity, the film is broken up into arbitrary chapters. Vera Farmiga and Mark Strong lead an ensemble cast of solid performances as members of the gang of five stylish Ocean’s Eleven-type pals who pull off the heist. But instead of focusing on them, the film centers on Virgil, a naïve young cameraman about whom we know almost nothing and is only peripherally involved in the action. The decentralized structure obscures the underdeveloped characters’ motivations and instead merely causes confusion. In an otherwise run of the mill period piece, there is no reason to approach the meat of the story from the wrong angle.

This is an incredible story of unsentimental, smart heroes who gave their lives to make a mockery of the corrupt and anti-Semitic Romanian Communist regime, and who managed to do so even when forced to star in the propaganda film created to humiliate their antics before being executed. In the final title cards, it is revealed that the real propaganda film is still intact and available to view. After sitting through this muddle of cheesy costumes and poor storytelling—a reenactment at its most basic—a viewing of the primary source would be a welcome history lesson.

www.ifcfilms.com/films/closer-to-the-moon