Closer to the Moon

It's Romania, 1959. As a kick against Jewish oppression under the postwar Communist regime, five idealistic Jewish intellectuals decide to rob the state bank to fund their dissident activities. They do so under the pretence of making a heist movie. Caught by the authorities, they're then bizarrely and ironically forced to re-stage their robbery for an antisemitic government propaganda film. It sounds fanciful, but in essence it's all true. The propaganda film exists. Extracts are shown during the closing credits. Though written and directed by a Romanian, Closer to the Moon is in English, and features an Anglo-American cast headed by Mark Strong and Vera Farmiga. While commercially understandable, artistically it impacts on the film's credibility and effectiveness. The story is so quintessentially Romanian, it should have been made in Romanian, with Romanian actors. Though decently made, it probably won't make much impact outside Bucharest and its environs.