DVD: Tales from the Golden Age (12)

The Palme d'Or-winning director Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) returns with another film about life in Romania under Ceaucescu.

But it's not as grim as you might expect – the film has a sizable dose of humour, and is black rather than bleak. The film is comprised of five stand-alone stories, based on urban myths from the time, that reveal the absurd bureaucracy and desperate measures to which people were driven to survive. Although collected and scripted by Mungiu, the tales each have a different director. And while they are characterised by a low key humour, each one also captures the frustration and fear of Romania's "Golden Age".