WHEN EVENING FALLS ON BUCHAREST OR METABOLISM World Cinema

Romanian New Waver Corneliu Poremboiu (POLICE, ADJECTIVE) is back to his clever, wordy dialogue, deadpan sense of humor and patience-demanding shot duration with this tale of a director attempting to convince his supporting actress (and current bedfellow) to appear nude in a scene from his film. A cunning portrait of sexual hypocrisy emerges, as director and actress alike go to great lengths to convince themselves the nude scene in question will reveal deeper emotional aspects of her character. Composed of fewer than 20 shots, WHEN EVENING FALLS ON BUCHAREST OR METABOLISM is also an offbeat ode to traditional filmmaking: it was shot on 35mm. It’s no surprise that Porumboiu opens with his lead character explaining that an entire roll of film lasts no more than 11 minutes. Here the real and fictional directors are winking at each other, inviting the audience along on an extended joke of impressive visual and verbal proportions.