Dragos Bucur & Vlad Ivanov in the movie Police, Adjective

On television, police procedurals are all about the DNA, and the flashy speculative flashbacks to who raped and murdered whom, and where the evidence ended up for the series regulars to discover just before the commercial.

"Police, Adjective" is a procedural for the rest of us.

This exquisitely dry film comes from Romanian writer-director Corneliu Porumboiu. It's not for all tastes; it requires some patience. The more your own job involves absurd, time-consuming bits of minutiae, the more familiar (and amusing) it'll seem.

Romania has been killing lately on the international festival circuit, turning out one good or even great slice of life after another. This one, from the maker of "12:08 East of Bucharest," ranks right up there with "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and, in a dry but devastating comic vein in line with "Police, Adjective," the epic "Death of Mr. Lazarescu."

So what happens? Hilariously little at first. In the drab town of Vaslui, a young policeman tails a high school kid who is suspected of offering hashish to two other students. We watch Cristi, the cop, watch his prey, or more often watch him waiting for something to watch. These early scenes unroll on a real-time timetable, and when Cristi must fill out elaborate police forms on his progress, we think: what progress?

Cristi, meantime, develops a question of his own. Is this kid's life, about to be marked for life by a rap sheet, worth all this trouble? The title of "Police, Adjective" refers to "police" not as a noun, but as an action. Cristi's relationships with his wife and, especially, with his icy superior, hinge on explorations of syntax and word meaning, as well as the way verbiage can be used as subterfuge. Cristi is barely characterized, in conventional dramatic terms. But he's enough for this film. We come to know him through his miserably bizarre situation, and through his skepticism regarding those whose handle on the language outstrips his own.

The key scene is played brilliantly, with Vlad Ivanov (the abortionist in "4 Months") as the superior officer and Dargos Bucur as Cristi, whose slowly dawning conscience lands him in hot water. You will never think about the definitions of the words "law" and "conscience" the same way after hearing Ivanov assert his authority by way of a dictionary. Not many pictures can give an audience a sinking feeling of bureaucratic oppression while being funny. (A certain kind of funny, that is.) This one can, and does. It's small but meticulous and just about flawless.

 

The newest triumph from the burgeoning national cinema of Romania the film POLICE, ADJECTIVE is a wry comedy about crime, conscience and the beauty of language from the director of 1:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST, Corneliu Poromboiu. Cristi is a policeman who refuses to arrest a young man who offers hash to two of his school mates. Cristi believes that the law will change, and does not want the life of a young man he considers irresponsible to be a burden on his conscience. For his superior, the word conscience has an entirely different meaning

 

No MPAA rating (some language).

Running time: 1:53.

Cast: Dragos Bucur (Cristi); Vlad Ivanov (Anghelache); Ion Stocia (Nelu); Irina Saulescu (Anca).

Credits: Written, produced and directed by Corneliu Porumboiu. An IFC Films release.

 

Police, Adjective Movie Review - Dragos Bucur & Vlad Ivanov