CHILD’S POSE (POZITIA COPILULUI) World Cinema

Călin Peter Netzer won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale this year for this dark tragicomedy about an overly protective and domineering mother, Cornelia (Luminita Gheorghiu), who uses all of the means at her disposal to keep her adult son, Barbu (Bogdan Dumitrache), out of jail when he is accused of killing a child in a hit-and-run. There is no question that Barbu is reckless and irresponsible, and there is no doubt that his mother’s unequivocal loyality to her son knows no bounds. Cornelia is an educated, wealthy woman, an architect by trade, who views her privilege in Romanian society as a right that extends to her son; she has no qualms about offering bribes, or coercing the police and witnesses to lie. The narrative deftly and meticulously lays out her deceit, entitlement and arrogance. Co-written by Răzvan Rădulescu (THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU), CHILD’S POSE is a brilliant exposé of contemporary moral malaise.