DVD: Tuesday, After Christmas

Disquieting Romanian anatomisation of the effects of infidelity

by Kieron TylerFriday, 27 April 2012

Tuesday, After Christmas: Paul (Mimi Brănescu) figures out what to do about his relationship with Raluca (Maria Popistasu)

Just as you think you’ve got Tuesday, After Christmas pegged as an Eric Rohmer-style relationship drama, it gradually becomes clear it’s something else. The impact left by this ambiguous, non-judgmental examination of the emotional crisis affecting a married man and those around him is a result of its measured approach and deft sensitivity. Less about the dialogue, it’s more about interaction and nuance.

Paul Hanganu (Mimi Brănescu) is married to Adriana (Mirela Oprişor). They have a bright little daughter. He works in some unspecified role for a bank, Adriana works in law. Adriana doesn’t know that Paul has been having an affair with Raluca (Maria Popistasu), their daughter’s dentist. They both turn up at the appointment to fit their daughter with braces, where the discomfited Paul decides he has to choose his future path. Christmas looms, and he resolves to make a decision before the end of the year.

Tuesday, After Christmas DVD The plot is simple, covered in a linear fashion with no fuss. There are the minimum of set ups and scenes. Tuesday, After Christmas is defined by the subtlety writer-director Radu Muntean (the DVD's extra is an across-the-kitchen-table interview with Muntean) brings to what might be a by-rote depiction of a middle-class marriage that could be about to break down. The opening scene of Paul and Raluca’s intimate interaction is utterly natural and consequently uncomfortable to watch. It’s like peeking in on a private conversation you should never have heard or seen. Paul and Adriana’s dentist’s visit is squirm-inducing. What follows after Paul’s confession is even more so.

There are echoes of (and a reconfiguring of) Muntean’s earlier film Boogie, where the protagonist tries to reconnect with his past but decides to stick with the present. That the big picture comes from the detail is a trait shared with recent-ish Romanian highlights like Police, Adjective and The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu, but Tuesday, After Christmas inhabits it’s own space. Unreservedly recommended.

Watch the trailer for Tuesday, After Christmas

The opening scene is like peeking in on a private conversation you should never have heard or seen

rating

Editor Rating:

Average: 5 (1 vote)

Buy

Find Tuesday, After Christmas on Amazon

Explore topics

Share this article

I had no idea this was TWO

Permalink Submitted by Jiee (not verified) on Fri, 18/05/2012 - 13:12

I had no idea this was TWO Christmas episodes! Imagine my ssuirpre when it arrived! I thought it was just A Christmas They Never Forgot. Anyway, I have been a fan of this much-loved series for years. As kids, my bother and I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and every Christmas I get him a DVD. I really think he's going to like this. Every show is always perfect! Michael Landon set the bar of excellence so high that no one in the past 30 years has ever been able to even come close! These are the main cast members of this family-friendly series:Michael Landon (played: Charles Ingalls)Karen Grassle (played: Caroline Ingalls)Melissa Gilbert (played: Laura Ingalls)Melissa Sue Anderson (played: Mary Ingalls)Matthew Laborteaux (played: Albert Ingalls)Ketty Lester (played: Hester-Sue Terhune)Dean Butler (played: Almanzo Wilder)Victor French (played: Isaiah Edwards)Linwood Boomer (played: Adam Kendall)Richard Bull (played: Nels Oleson)Alison Arngrim (played: Nellie Oleson)Melissa Missy Francis (played: Cassandra Cooper Ingalls)Jason Bateman (played: James Cooper Ingalls)Rachel Lindsay Sydney Greebush (Carrie Ingalls)Wendi Brenda Turnbaugh (played Grace Ingalls) These are the 2 eps that this DVD incldues, with the original air dates show descriptions: Christmas at Plum Creek December 25, 1974The entire Ingalls family works (extra) hard to earn money for Christmas gifts. Carrie even finds a penny in an old hat box. Laura decides to trade Bunny to Mr. Oleson! Charles raises extra money, as well, by reconstructing a set of wagon wheels. Ma and Mary each take up sewing as their family contribution. And, on Christmas morning everyone gets the ssuirpre of their lives! This ep is from Season One . A Christmas They Never Forgot December 21, 1981Mary and Adam come back to Walnut Grove (from NY) for a rare ssuirpre visit. When the entire family is snowed in, everyone sits around the kitchen table and tells some of their fondest memories. And, one of the stories even includes is a Christmas clip from the Little House Original Pilot Movie, with Mr. Edwards! A Christmas They Never Forgot is from Season Eight . Merry Christmas!!!

Add comment

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Film

Anora review - life lesson for a kick-ass sex worker Sean Baker's bracing Palme d'Or winner twists, turns, and makes a star of Mikey Madison

Blitz review - racism persists as bombs batter London Steve McQueen's overwought World War Two boy's adventure film delivers its message

Small Things Like These review - less is more in stirring Irish drama Cillian Murphy is exceptional as a man wrestling with his church and conscience

The Room Next Door review - Almodóvar out of his comfort zone The Spanish director's meditation on mortality is a beautiful misfire

Blu-ray: The Outcasts A forgotten Irish folk horror is eerily magical and earthed in the soil

London Film Festival 2024 - Nickel Boys, crime and punishment and Ukraine Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer-winner adapted, a Belgian serial killer, Chinese odyssey and sexist Indian police in our final round-up

London Film Festival 2024 - a shaman and sham Warren Ellis saves wildlife and himself, Pavement go post-modern in two music docs

Documentary highlights from the 2024 London Film Festival A close look at insightful new non-fiction films about single motherhood, visionary photographers, scam artists, legacies of colonialism, and more

Venom: The Last Dance review - Tom Hardy's people-eater bows out Poignancy studs the digital punch-ups as the super-alien saga concludes

theartsdesk Q&A: director Jacques Audiard on his Mexican trans gangster musical 'Emilia Pérez' The French filmmaker concocted an extravagant genre mash-up to confront the tragedy of Mexico's 'disappeared'

London Film Festival 2024 - Angelina Jolie does Maria Callas Plus John & Yoko in New York, Elton in LA and Pauline Black in Coventry

Emilia Perez review - Audiard's beguiling musical tribute to Mexico's women Exceptional female cast gives this 'comedy' a serious, angry core

Follow @theartsdesk