Despite being
based on true events, Closer to the Moon
takes a number of liberties within the narrative in order to attempt an
explanation behind a crime which still remains a mystery. This also frees the
filmmakers to adjust the tone of the narrative, so that moments are comedic
where they could have been melodramatic. The story fits into the ‘unbelievable
but true’ category which is always bait for cinematic adaptation, though Closer to the Moon left me feeling as
though there wasn’t quite enough story for the amount of movie.
In 1959 there
was an unexplained bank heist carried out in Communist Bucharest, notable for
the pointlessness of this theft as well as the details behind it. The robbery
was carried out by five high-ranking Jewish members of the Communist party, and
they got away with it in broad daylight by pretending that the action was
simply part of a film shoot. Closer to
the Moon supposes that these thieves wanted to be like the movie stars that
they were pretending to be, though they layer this with additional political
activism, though the reality is that their true intentions were never
discovered.
This is where
the story gets really weird. As punishment for their crime, these bank robbers
were sentenced to death, but not before they were forced to act in a propaganda
film reenacting their crimes. Closer to
the Moon shows this propaganda film shoot from the perspective of the young
and idealistic cameraman, Virgil (Harry Lloyd). Although it seems that Romanian
police officer Max Rosenthal (Max Strong) is the leader in the unlikely gang of
friends and former members of the World War II Jewish Resistance, Virgil’s
primary interaction is with the sole female, Alice (Vera Farmiga).
Some may find
the comedy utilized in telling this story off-putting, but I am more disturbed
by the fact that they didn’t take it even further. Director Nae Caranfil tries
to approach the material with as many emotional turns as possible and please as
many viewers as he can, but the effect is equally unimpressive across all
genres. The comedy is not fully committed to and the drama feels oddly muted,
regardless of how fascinating the actual story is. This is a film which is
never quite bad, but also feels like a missed opportunity. It is typically a
bad sign when the plot description of a film is the most entertaining thing
about it.
The DVD includes
a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
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