Adjective Police by Cornelia Porumboiu

Camera d’or winner in 2006 with 12:08 East of Bucharest, pioneer of the so-called Romanian nouvelle vague, Porumboiu is back with his second East-side story. No Christmas shows this time: Police, Adjective deals with small town police inspector Cristi’s everyday life, focused on his current task of following a teen suspected of selling pot.

The slow-motion scenes, minimalistic dialogues and camera movements may seem endless and somewhat drawn-out at first sight. Yet it is precisely in this endless and monotonous rhythm that Porumboiu’s discrete and intellectual humour is brought out with precision. Observing Cristi’s life from a distance allows for a slightly ironic, yet melancholic point of view of both the police station’s bureaucratic microcosm and human moral hesitations in general.

As a matter of fact, the more Cristi gets involved by following the 16-year-old teenager, the less willing he is to continue. Instead, he starts to feel empathy towards the youngster and feels responsibility in case he ruins his life only for smoking pot. Thus, he avoids his superior for some time and does everything he can to prove that the boy is just a child. At some point, Cristi’s behaviour reminds one of the young teacher’s attitude in Laurent Cantet’s feature The Class, winner of the Golden Palm last year. Both are finding it hard to choose between official, inflexible rules and their inner urge to be human, to remain faithful to themselves. However, by feeling empathy towards their young and unwitting criminals, they lose sight of their duties, without even noticing it.

While Cristi keeps following the teen on the streets, Porumboiu goes further and follows Cristi not only in his professional environment but also at home. An intimate but still somewhat ironic look is given to the dialogues in which Cristi’s wife Anca, listening to romantic love songs on youtube, reminds him about the correct use of the grammar rules of the Romanian Academy. And about wearing the same pullover every day.

Finally, in a splendid last but not least scene, worth waiting for, Cristi is confronted by his superior, who only speaks the language of the law and the Romanian Academy, he is forced to decide whether to arrest the boy or leave his job. He finally chooses the first option. Was this right or wrong? In whose opinion and in what language?

Laura Talvet