Romanian comedy 'Two Lottery Tickets' shown in Baku

Baku. 8 April. REPORT.AZ/ Baku has hosted a show of Romanian comedy "Two Lottery Tickets", directed by Paul Negoescu.

Report informs, the show was held at the Landmark cinema within the framework of the "Week of Francophonie in Baku".

Show of the film, which was attended by the staff of the Embassy of Romania to Azerbaijan, delegates of embassies of other countries, included in the organization of the Francophone, as well by fans of cinema and Romanian culture, assembled a large audience.

Notably, the screenplay of the film “Two Lottery Tickets” is based on a very popular and well-known novella with the same title, written by the famous Romanian playwright and author Ion-Luca Caragiale (1852-1912).

An ultra-independent comedy about three slackers who buy a lottery ticket and lose it just before realising that it would bring them a fortune, “Two Lottery Tickets” offers the audience a straightforward situational comedy with three characters about whom the audience can laugh.

Dinel, the main character, is a small-town car mechanic who is desperate to earn money in order to help his girlfriend come back from Italy. After a hugely disappointing day at work, a drink with his best friends – gambling addict Sile and the cool-headed Pompiliu – makes Dinel invest in a lottery ticket, with surprising consequences.

Made with the audience in mind, the comedy offers a range of interesting situations and explores a certain small-town mentality. Although it isn’t difficult to connect with the three heroes, the screenplay written by film director Paul Negoescu feels both too familiar and tame, which results in the feature feeling too similar to a TV sitcom for its own good.

“Two Lottery Tickets” is the first Romanian feature since the 1990s to be shot by a woman (cameraperson Ana Drăghici), and its vivid colours take advantage of some well-chosen locations (the heroes make a trip to Bucharest), but ultimately the film is significant only as part of an eagerly awaited change of direction in Romanian cinema: an avalanche of genre productions, mainly comedies, hitting the screen in the second half of the year.

The film was awarded a number of film awards both in Romania and abroad.