The Survivor (2008)

I'll tell you why so serious

Blistering performances.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

In Romania, Sergiu Nicolaescu's most recent detective flick revolving around the legendary character Commissioner Moldovan gathered the largest audience among all Romanian movies screened in 2008. "Supravietuitorul" ("The Survivor") was watched by almost 26,000 people and cashed over 300,000 RON at the box office. So, the public says it's the best movie of the year. Nicolaescu's movie is followed by "Restul e tacere" ("The Rest is Silence") by Nae Caranfil, Romania's nominee for an Oscar in the best foreign language film category. The best part of the movie is the part taking place in the 1940's Bucharest, the legend of the famous couple Cristian Vasile (singer, a VIP of the time) and Zarada (a gypsy girl). I recommend the movie to everybody.

Poor Sergiu created again a faulty toy, meant to be a sort of mechanic "action man", and turning out as a skinny teddy-bear that makes "meouw" instead of "grrr". :)) It's really sad to see this tired warming-up of the old "commissioner Moldovan" movies, which had been more or less acceptable ("Un comisar acuzä" - good enough; "Revansa" - mediocre: "Duelul" - acceptably bad). "Supravietuitorul" has an inept, illogical and nonsensical script, an extremely awkward and amateurish directing, and it's disastrously played - further, it insists to use some non-entities as Ileana Lazariuc (AND to show her shaved pubis, although in A.D. 1940 this fashion was still some distant dream of the future) and Loredana Groza (who uselessly makes oral noise to no end, in a so-called "musical scene"), only in an attempt to attract audiences - which it really does, unfortunately, since Romania still holds a sizable proportion of troglodyte spectators willing to throw their money out for such aberrations.Peter Falc, poor him, as the young commissioner, arrives only to make a fool of himself. He doesn't look alike with young Sergiu, but old Sergiu thinks he does, so he dubs him with his 78 years old voice, neglecting to synchronize his speech with the young Czech actor's lips movement - and the result is delirious.One should also add the intolerably messy way to shoot on location (the famous Majestic square in downtown Bucharest trying to pass for western place - get a life!), the hallucinant host of anachronisms, the unwilling funny effects of so many scenes purporting to be "dramatic"...! My favorite blunder was the episode when young Moldovan chases after a bad guy, DELIBERATELY SHOOTING ALL HIS BULLETS IN THE AIR, and in the end he points the gun to the bastard, hears the unavoidable "click!", and remarks: "You were lucky, this time!" (I mean, there is dumb and dumb, but this beats them all!)

If it wasn't for Ileana Lazariuc, Romanian version of Angelina Jolie, I would give this movie one single shiny star.The movie tells the incredible story of an extreme life and death Russian roulette game in which 'The commissioner of police' can "dodge" bullets.Just let it sink for a minute: a guy who dodges bullets in a game of Russian roulette, and he's the best at it, for 30 years.This guy will simply won't die and Statistics don't stand a chance with him. I rest my case.For your sake, don't watch this movie.

Definitely not one of the great movies from Nicolaescu. This movie is supposed to be about Comisarul. Instead all we get is a cheap film about Russian roulette. Better watch the Georgian movie 13 Tzameti for unbelievable tension related to Russian roulette.Great actors but bad script. Loved the performance of Jean Constantin. Even if the action seems to take place in a western Europe city almost everybody is Romanian:) and the director is making that very clear introducing English speaking for those who are not Romanian. This movie seems like a long advert for singer Loredana Groza aka Lorry. Everything in the movie is in slow motion and for almost 20 minutes Loredana is on a cabaret stage singing....so boring. Loredana is this movie producer's wife. Does it make sense to you now? Nicolaescu please stop doing movies. You are just ruining your career after those great movies in the 70s and 80s.