The leaked sex tape puts the Romanian teacher in trouble in the brutal comedy "Unlucky or Crazy Porn" by writer/director Radu Jude. The film opens with an explicit sex scene between Emilia (Katia Pascariou) and her husband Eugen (Stefan Steele). 

The first part of this three-act movie is set during the pandemic and reveals the impact of its discovery. When Emilia tried to control the situation, she met rude people in the shops and streets of Bucharest. In Part 2, Jude provides a "short dictionary of anecdotes, signs, and miracles," which defines various power dynamics from colonialism to censorship and persecution. The final scene of the film puts Emilia on trial because the school principal (Claudia Iremia) asked Emilia’s students’ parents and grandparents to debate her behavior. The discussion became intense and annoying, showing the hypocrisy of the accuser and Emilia's defense of her private life and teaching methods.

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Jude is telling the truth about power here, showing how people can use power to control others without wanting to be controlled by themselves. The filmmaker talked to Sharon about his political film, which is the best international film Oscar submitted by Romania this year. 

You opened your movie with an explicit sex scene between Emilia and Eugene. This is a sequence that the audience thinks through the whole movie, because we cannot "not watch" it. It also prompts us to think about Emi and her behavior, some people think these behaviors are shameful, some people may feel very excited. Can you talk about creating and using this scene as the basis for your movie?

Now is the beginning of the movie, but it shouldn't be. The scene moved several times during the editing process. Finally, I insisted from the beginning that let the audience know what [video] is, know and judge, appreciate or condemn-no matter how they react-because the video is at the center of the story. That's one thing, but it's also a bit abnormal, because it tries to get the audience to stand on their parents' stand.

There is a kind of spell or cliché that all filmmakers will say, "I don't judge them when I create or construct characters." I don't think this is possible. We always judge by analyzing reality. They can say that they are judging people, but they are not condemning them. But judgment always exists. It's funny because I did some research on amateur porn sites — I know it sounds hypocritical — I tried to combine the little stories I saw in these videos with the stories. There are not many Romanians and most of them are in English. I try to make it not an extreme porn scene. I made the most mediocre one.

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"Unlucky" happened during the pandemic, and there are some great moments that show how different people monitor each other in terms of masks and social distancing, and how we adapt to respect for the form of control that is beyond our control and should be adopted. Can you talk about shooting under these conditions, how does this increase your authoritarian theme?

I have made a few films about history, and when I want to get rid of this mentality and make a very modern film, I want to keep something from my historical interests. I conceived the movie I watched today, which was theorized in the second part of the movie by someone who went back to the past from the future, and the camera is focusing on trivial things. When the pandemic came, when we were preparing, so we just included it in one way or another and added another layer. We have conflicts everywhere, especially in Romania about social and medical measures. I want to show that this is just another part of life. If people are so hysterical or so violent because of the pandemic, it will only take it to the next level. In this case, we are in trouble because only 30% of the people here are vaccinated, and there are many deaths here. Half of us are in lockdown, and the situation will get worse. The school is closed. It will be interesting to see what happens. Many people like me, 44 or 50-70 years old are angrily opposed to medical or health dictatorship. But these people older than me did nothing under the real dictatorship.  

In your movie there is a wonderful theme about the collapse of society, politeness is a lost art-from communication in the supermarket or on the street, when Amy scolds the driver blocking the sidewalk, the encounter at the drugstore and a person crossing the street . No one likes to be told they are wrong. This is a theme in your movie. People just want to humiliate others. In daily life, how should we fight this rude behavior? 

I'm not sure I have the answer, but this is a good question. Yes, the situation is more stable in Western European countries. We are shocked by the change in power in the United States and the attack on the Capitol. In Bucharest, we have a dictatorship, and when it ends, we can choose what kind of society we create. Romania is now a fairly free society. In the era of Ceausescu, there were many civil liberties that were unimaginable. However, the result of all this is that people accept the most terrible individualistic neoliberal society without social protection without realizing the result. We can see all the scenes you mentioned every day. It is because of this fact that people lack a sense of unity. We were told to be individualistic, so everyone bought a car and public transportation lost finances. There are eight times as many cars in Bucharest, and people park on the sidewalk. You see this is a suffocating society, and we are doing this to ourselves. The government and political leaders began to change, but this did not happen.

The theater pauses in the middle of the film to show images and examples of repression, colonialism, persecution, and censorship. There are a few lines in your movie that are very persuasive. The more stupid a point is, the more important it is. One about teaching contributes to power relations. Can you talk about these topics and your attitude towards authority?

In this case, not only the second part, the rest of the film not only focuses on authority and our response to authority, but it is always wrong. When we should be strong and react, it didn't happen, and when you should abide, you became a rebel. Some people say that Romania was born as a student, born as a clerk, and died as a pensioner. 

The video tape is a small part of the story, it is not important-a superficial tabloid story. But if you think about it, and why I made this movie, this little story is like a fable that takes place in many tensions in our society. It is authority, but it also questions the rights and digital world we live in. All questions about morality, education, body, and the relationship between body and politics, and what is allowed and what is not allowed-all of this happened together. This movie shows the intersection of these issues.

The court in the final scene revealed more information about the accuser than the trial Emilia. I like "Bad Luck Banging" involving public and private topics. What can we do without judgment? 

We are now living in this cancellation culture. As for me, everyone can have their own opinions, but I am one of these people and can be called a "legalist" rather than a moralist. I try not to be a moralist. In our private lives, we may have disputes with friends or lovers because of moral issues. But what I am trying to show in the film is the conflict between morality and legality, what is legal and what is illegal. I think that each case should be discussed on its own. From a statistical point of view, I am more inclined to stand on the legal side. If someone has the legal right to do something, then they should do it according to their own wishes and not be judged for it. I have a strong reaction to morality and judging people based on moral standards. If someone goes to jail for a crime, when they get out of jail, I think they are no longer guilty. They recovered. I really hate that people think about someone because they have made a mistake. They are guilty for life and should be cancelled for life. I oppose it in principle. I am opposed to judgments that are happening more and more on social media. For certain situations, such as works of art, sometimes you need more time to think and reflect. You cannot have a one-minute reaction to everything. People can do whatever they want, but this movie shows tension. The teacher said, "This is my right," but people say, "Maybe this is your right, but it's immoral." That's not a dialogue. Say you shouldn't do something, if you have the right to do it. It is my right not to be an ethical person. 

This movie has a discussion about decency. Do you think pornography is harmful to children? What is an appropriate review? Who is responsible for enforcement?

Any questions can be asked. When you say, "Is pornography harmful to children? We can answer in any way. The film teacher's answer is, "This is not my problem. The parent who should protect your children and teach them not to be harmed is you." On these sites. "This is from a legal point of view. This is the most important thing.  

You quote from Brecht, Bourdieu, Eco, Krakauer, Sartre, Todorov, Arendt and other thinkers in the film. In a society where people are willing to believe in science and facts, can we defend with logic and reason? 

Yes, I think so, this is the only goal for which to fight for-reason, truth and science. My answer is also very superficial, because everyone can say yes, we know, but science may be dangerous, and today’s science may not be [really] tomorrow. There is a balance to be maintained. There is a great [​​neuroscientist], Antonio Domasio. He wrote "Descartes' Mistakes" and "Looking for Spinoza", both of which are about the brain and how the brain works. In "Descartes' Mistakes," he proved that you cannot make decisions based solely on reason. The decision is always a little bit of emotion in your heart, because emotionally blocked patients will prevent their decision. This is a combination of rationality and sensibility. I try not to let my emotional part completely control. I am not a psychologist, nor a priest.

You have another movie, "Capital Printing", which tells the theme of repression and repression. Can you discuss it? 

There are two types of filmmakers or artists. I can talk more about filmmakers. Some people have very unique styles and worlds, and when you see their movies, you will recognize them. Woody Allen is obvious, or someone like John Ford. Some filmmakers try-I want to belong to the first category, but I am not-to find a form in every movie. But I firmly believe that film is a tool for thinking. It takes place in the form or shape of film. Both films are trying to find a way to think-talk about topics in a specific form that only movies can do. This is what Italo Calvino said in an interview with the "Cinema Manual" in the 1960s. At that time he was taken away by the French New Wave. He called them "prose" movies, and now they have different meanings. These films can be sociological, psychological, political, or historical. They are only meaningful or important if they can do something that sociology, psychology, and history cannot. I believe that my history film can do things that a history book cannot. I try to find things that only movies can do, and try to do them. In the case of "capital printing", it is a montage and past performance. I chose not to present the past in the Hollywood way, nor did I choose the way of traditional movies. This story was broken by television images in the 1980s, which created a kind of storytelling that only applies to movies. You cannot do this in other media. In literature, there are only words without images. Here, you have text and images, so even if it doesn’t look like that, it’s very cinematic.

"Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn" will be released on Friday, November 19. Watch the trailer below on YouTube.

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Gary M. Kramer is a writer and film critic living in Philadelphia. Follow him on Twitter.

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