Child’s Pose

Pozitia Copilului
Director: Cälin Peter Netzer
Cast: Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache
Duration: 112 mins
Country of Origin: Romania

Mature themes and coarse language

“An astonishing gem. A diamond-hard thriller, dramatically coiled around a viciously brilliant turn from Luminita Gheorghiu. Among the year’s most essential films.” 
Guy Lodge, THE OBSERVER

★★★★
“One of cinema’s most domineering mothers. A powerhouse drama.”
Garry Maddox, THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

★★★★
“Stunning. As brilliantly portrayed by Gherghiu, Cornelia is a real piece of work. Don’t try to understand her, but just try to take your eyes off her. Highly recommended for lovers of exemplary world cinema.”
Leigh Paatsch, THE HERALD-SUN

★★★★
“Brilliantly crafted. The premise is a noir standard, but as things develop, the story goes beyond the thriller genre, into deeper waters: the suspense narrative leads to a spiritual crisis. A gripping drama”
Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN

“Stunning. A ferocious psychological drama with the pace of a thriller.”
Kenneth Turan, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

“Sharp, chilling and involving. One of those rare films (A Separation was another) that trusts audiences to bring their own moral compass.”
Nick Roddick, THE EVENING STANDARD

★★★★
“One to remember. Netzer has taken compelling acting, psychological insight and an unerring sense of drama – even melodrama – to create a film with a deep sense of humanity.”
Lynden Barber, SBS FILMS

WINNER – BEST FILM – 2013 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER – 9 ROMANIAN FILM AWARDS incl Best Film, Director, Actress, Screenplay, Supp. Actor & Supp. Actress

Hailed internationally by both audiences and critics, and popular winner of the coveted Golden Bear at the 2013 Berlinale, Calin Peter Netzer‘s CHILD’S POSE is a riveting drama that centres on the vice-like grip of a mother’s affection for her son, and the repercussions of her actions when his wellbeing is placed in jeopardy.

60-year-old Cornelia (the phenomenal Luminita Gheorghiu) leads a life of privilege, social power and abundant material wealth in contemporary Bucharest, but life is not perfect. More than anything in the world, she longs for her 34 year-old son Barbu (Bogdan Dumitrache) to reciprocate her unreserved devotion. But the pair barely speak, something the domineering Cornelia blames on Barbu’s live-in girlfriend, who has a child from a previous relationship.

The balance of power irrevocably shifts one cold evening when Barbu is involved in a tragic car accident. Seeing her chance to regain control, Cornelia commences a frighteningly well-orchestrated campaign to save her son from prison. Unfortunately the germaphobic Barbu, boiling with anger yet hopelessly emasculated, seemingly refuses to play along…

Propelled by Gheorghiu’s towering, tour-de-force performance and a razor-sharp attention to class and generational resentments, Netzer’s engrossing film lays bare the moral bankruptcy of upper class, post-Ceaușescu Romanian society and its institutions in expert fashion. Disquieting but also compassionate, this examination of guilt and the crippling effects of loss became a national talking point upon release in Romania last year (breaking 20 year-old box office records) and makes for a fascinating, unforgettable cinema experience.

MORE…
“Child’s Pose sounds like something elementary and easy, but don’t be fooled. This stunning film from Romania, a ferocious psychological drama with the pace of a thriller, is anything but simple” – Kenneth Turan reviews for NPR (audio).

Fairfax Media’s Phillipa Hawker interviewed director Peter Calin Netzer about his sharp and sometimes harrowing story of class, power and control.

“It’s almost as if we’re peering at those sacred moments which only take place inside the walls of the home”… BlackBook interviews Calin Peter Netzer.

The Los Angeles Times’ Susan King profiles Peter Calin Netzer and his “Oedipal tale in the guise of a psychological thriller”.

“I was very interested to see how the camera man was seeing, as they were near the characters. This allowed the actors a liberty of movement.”- Calin Peter Netzer interviewed by David O’Connell for Perth’s X-Press Mag.

Calin Peter Netzer on Rigorous Preparation, Letting Go and Riding the Romanian New Wave in Filmmaker Magazine.

Child's Pose