Police, Adjective

“A brilliant black comedy about language, power, and law enforcement...My favorite of the films I’ve seen in this year’s Cannes Film Festival.”—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

“The usual emphasis in a detective film is upended so that procedure, thrillingly, is more important than action. In its own way, this is one of the most intense cop movies you’ll see.”—Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year and a double prize winner at Cannes, Police, Adjective is a whip-smart, dryly funny drama that avoids all the usual movie clichés about police work. The film is the most recent feature to garner attention from the exciting Romanian New Wave, which has also produced 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu.

Cristi is a young undercover cop who undergoes a crisis of conscience when he is pressured to arrest a teenager who offers hash to classmates. Not wanting to ruin the life of a young man he considers merely irresponsible, Cristi must either allow the arrest to be a burden on his conscience or face censure by his by-the-book superior (Vlad Ivanov of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days), for whom the word “conscience” has an entirely different meaning.

Porumboiu approaches his story with the exacting patience of a master ironist, and the film culminates in one of the most unexpected comedic payoffs in years—an extraordinary dissection of language that affirms this director’s reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in European cinema. (115 mins., 35mm)