Discover the most iconic, critically acclaimed, and culturally rich Romanian movies that have defined generations. From the raw realism of the Romanian New Wave to historical epics and modern masterpieces, this list presents the absolute best in Romanian cinema.
Over the past two decades, Romanian cinema has undergone a powerful transformation. Emerging from decades of censorship and post-communist restructuring, Romanian directors have developed a unique style defined by minimalism, long takes, realistic dialogue, and biting social commentary. These characteristics are most notably found in the Romanian New Wave — a movement that gained international acclaim beginning in the early 2000s. These films don’t rely on explosive narratives or high budgets; instead, they captivate through subtle tension, human fragility, and real-world struggles.
Today, Romanian movies continue to attract global attention, winning top awards at Cannes, Berlin, and Venice. They reflect a society in transition — grappling with morality, bureaucracy, and identity in a fast-changing world. Whether you’re a fan of gritty realism, character-driven plots, or socially conscious themes, this list offers a curated journey into the very soul of Eastern European cinema. These 25 masterpieces are essential viewing for cinephiles and cultural explorers alike.
🎥 1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days / 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile (2007)
- Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu
- Director: Cristian Mungiu
- Genre: Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.9
- Runtime: 113 minutes
A harrowing portrayal of communist Romania in the 1980s, this Palme d’Or winner dives deep into the lives of two young university students dealing with the challenges of an illegal abortion. Through minimalist cinematography and chilling realism, Cristian Mungiu crafts a hauntingly intimate portrait of state oppression, friendship, and quiet resistance. It’s widely regarded as the film that put Romanian New Wave on the global map.
🎥 2. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu / Moartea domnului Lăzărescu (2005)
- Starring: Ion Fiscuteanu, Luminița Gheorghiu
- Director: Cristi Puiu
- Genre: Drama, Dark Comedy
- IMDb Rating: 7.8
- Runtime: 153 minutes
In this devastatingly real and darkly comedic journey, an elderly man is shuffled between hospitals in a disinterested healthcare system. As the night drags on, so does his deteriorating condition. With long takes and documentary-style pacing, Cristi Puiu turns a medical emergency into a mirror of society’s apathy. This Romanian movie is as tragic as it is brutally honest.
🎥 3. Beyond the Hills / După dealuri (2012)
- Starring: Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur
- Director: Cristian Mungiu
- Genre: Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.5
- Runtime: 155 minutes
Inspired by real events, this unsettling film follows two childhood friends reunited at an Orthodox convent, where one’s rejection of faith spirals into chaos. Mungiu weaves a chilling and nuanced critique of religion, conformity, and love, slowly unfolding in a rigid and controlled visual language. Romanian cinema rarely reaches such terrifying grace.
🎥 4. Police, Adjective / Polițist, Adjectiv (2009)
- Starring: Dragoș Bucur, Vlad Ivanov
- Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 115 minutes
A slow-burn procedural that challenges the very notion of law, morality, and language. The film centers on a reluctant policeman ordered to arrest a teenager for smoking hashish. Porumboiu’s distinct philosophical voice elevates this seemingly mundane premise into a powerful and absurd critique of bureaucracy and justice in post-communist Romania.
🎥 5. Child’s Pose / Poziția copilului (2013)
- Starring: Luminița Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache
- Director: Călin Peter Netzer
- Genre: Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.4
- Runtime: 112 minutes
A suffocating look at a mother-son relationship that turns sinister under societal pressure and privilege. When a wealthy woman learns her son may face manslaughter charges, she manipulates the system to protect him. This film’s biting social commentary and emotional core reveal the deep fractures within Romanian class dynamics, wrapped in a rich character study.
🎥 6. Graduation / Bacalaureat (2016)
- Starring: Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Drăguș
- Director: Cristian Mungiu
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 7.4
- Runtime: 128 minutes
In this morally complex tale, a respected doctor pushes ethical boundaries to secure his daughter’s academic future after she suffers a traumatic incident. Mungiu’s masterful direction explores the unraveling consequences of moral compromise, showing how societal pressure can corrupt even those with good intentions. A taut psychological drama, it unflinchingly examines how a single choice can lead to an erosion of values in post-communist Romania.
🎥 7. Aferim! (2015)
- Starring: Teodor Corban, Mihai Comănoiu
- Director: Radu Jude
- Genre: Historical, Drama, Adventure
- IMDb Rating: 7.6
- Runtime: 108 minutes
Shot in stark black-and-white and set in 1835 Wallachia, Aferim! follows a local constable and his son hunting a runaway Roma slave. The film explores prejudice, authority, and hypocrisy with sharp dialogue and a cinematic eye inspired by Westerns. Jude’s work here elevates Romanian cinema with a bold historical perspective and biting satire.
🎥 8. Tuesday, After Christmas / Marți, după Crăciun (2010)
- Starring: Mimi Brănescu, Maria Popistașu
- Director: Radu Muntean
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- IMDb Rating: 7.1
- Runtime: 99 minutes
A quietly devastating portrayal of a man torn between his wife and his mistress, this film exposes emotional inertia and the cost of delayed honesty. Muntean’s deliberate pacing and naturalistic performances make even the smallest moments resonate with heartbreaking intensity.
🎥 9. Aurora (2010)
- Starring: Cristi Puiu
- Director: Cristi Puiu
- Genre: Drama, Mystery, Crime
- IMDb Rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 181 minutes
Cristi Puiu stars in this haunting and methodical character study of a man unraveling psychologically while preparing for an act of violence. Aurora is an exercise in existential dread, observation, and silence. Challenging and unsettling, it offers a window into the banality of horror in everyday life.
🎥 10. The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceaușescu / Autobiografia lui Nicolae Ceaușescu (2010)
- Starring: Archival Footage
- Director: Andrei Ujică
- Genre: Documentary, Biography, History
- IMDb Rating: 7.4
- Runtime: 180 minutes
This groundbreaking documentary stitches together official footage from Ceaușescu’s 25-year rule to form an ironically self-constructed portrait of power, control, and delusion. Ujică transforms propaganda into poetic critique, creating one of the most powerful Romanian movies in the documentary genre.
🎥 11. Stuff and Dough / Marfa și banii (2001)
- Starring: Dragoș Bucur, Alexandru Papadopol
- Director: Cristi Puiu
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 90 minutes
A pivotal early entry in the Romanian New Wave, this road-movie thriller follows two young men tasked with delivering a mysterious package. What begins as a simple errand spirals into paranoia, danger, and existential reflection.
🎥 12. Sieranevada (2016)
- Starring: Mimi Brănescu, Judith State
- Director: Cristi Puiu
- Genre: Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 173 minutes
Set almost entirely in a cramped apartment during a family memorial, Sieranevada unfolds in real time with long, unbroken takes and overlapping dialogue. As relatives gather to mourn, long-buried resentments, political rants, and intergenerational trauma erupt. Puiu’s careful choreography and realistic performances create an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and tension. This Romanian film turns a seemingly ordinary day into a portrait of a family — and society — barely holding together.
🎥 13. The Treasure / Comoara (2015)
- Starring: Toma Cuzin, Adrian Purcărescu
- Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.9
- Runtime: 89 minutes
Blending economic anxiety with deadpan humor, The Treasure follows two men searching for buried riches in a backyard using a metal detector. As they navigate permission, bureaucracy, and their own expectations, Porumboiu weaves in subtle commentary about Romanian history, hope, and capitalism. This quiet gem explores the idea that treasure isn’t always gold — sometimes, it’s the absurd journey and the stories we create around it that matter most.
🎥 14. California Dreamin’ / Nesfârșit (2007)
- Starring: Armand Assante, Răzvan Vasilescu
- Director: Cristian Nemescu
- Genre: War, Drama, Comedy
- IMDb Rating: 7.7
- Runtime: 155 minutes
Set during the NATO intervention in Kosovo, this tragicomedy portrays a U.S. military train stuck in a Romanian village due to bureaucratic inefficiency. As the Americans clash with local authorities and villagers, layers of historical resentment, political absurdity, and cultural misunderstanding unravel. The film moves effortlessly between satire and emotional realism, making it one of the most poignant posthumous debuts in Romanian cinema. Nemescu’s sudden death adds an emotional weight to this already layered masterpiece.
🎥 15. Occident (2002)
- Starring: Alexandru Papadopol, Anca-Ioana Androne
- Director: Cristian Mungiu
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 105 minutes
Mungiu’s directorial debut is a fragmented and darkly humorous tale of three intertwining stories, all tied together by the common desire to leave Romania for the West. Through irony, cultural clashes, and bittersweet encounters, the film reveals the dreams and disillusionments of a generation looking for escape. With sharp social observations and a nonlinear narrative, Occident brilliantly captures the contradictions of post-communist life and the longing for a better future that may not exist.
🎥 16. Dogs / Câini (2016)
- Starring: Dragoș Bucur, Gheorghe Visu
- Director: Bogdan Mirică
- Genre: Thriller, Crime
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 104 minutes
A dark, slow-burning neo-western that explores a violent underworld in rural Romania. When a man inherits a piece of land at the edge of the country, he uncovers a network of criminal power and intimidation that dominates the region. Mirică uses stark landscapes, long silences, and an atmosphere of dread to craft a uniquely Eastern European take on frontier justice. The result is a brooding meditation on masculinity, violence, and the moral decay lurking beneath quiet surfaces.
🎥 17. Do Not Touch Me / Nu mă atinge-mă (2018)
- Starring: Laura Benson, Tómas Lemarquis
- Director: Adina Pintilie
- Genre: Experimental, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.0
- Runtime: 125 minutes
Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, this bold and unconventional work blurs the line between documentary and fiction, exploring intimacy, vulnerability, and the body. Pintilie challenges cinematic norms and viewer expectations, creating a daring and deeply personal experience.
🎥 18. The Happiest Girl in the World / Cea mai fericită fată din lume (2009)
- Starring: Andreea Boșneag, Vasile Muraru
- Director: Radu Jude
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.7
- Runtime: 100 minutes
A biting satire about consumerism and media manipulation, this film follows a teenager who wins a car in a contest but is forced to star in its commercial. Jude’s minimalist approach highlights the absurdity of corporate exploitation with humor and insight.
🎥 19. The Paper Will Be Blue / Hârtia va fi albastră (2006)
- Starring: Paul Ipate, Adi Carauleanu
- Director: Radu Muntean
- Genre: War, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 95 minutes
Set during the 1989 Romanian Revolution, this intense and emotional film follows a soldier who deserts his unit to join the anti-communist protests. It captures the confusion and fear of a society in transition with raw realism.
🎥 20. One Floor Below / Un etaj mai jos (2015)
- Starring: Teodor Corban, Iulian Postelnicu
- Director: Radu Muntean
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- IMDb Rating: 6.6
- Runtime: 93 minutes
When a man overhears a violent argument leading to a murder in his apartment building but decides not to report it, the line between silence and complicity begins to blur. What follows is a tense, quietly disturbing psychological exploration of guilt, fear, and everyday moral cowardice. Radu Muntean uses naturalistic dialogue and muted tension to ask a chilling question: How far would you go to avoid getting involved? The film’s subtle intensity makes it one of the most thought-provoking Romanian dramas of the decade.
When a man overhears a violent argument leading to a crime but stays silent, his conscience becomes his worst enemy. This psychological drama examines moral responsibility and fear with subtle intensity.
🎥 21. Liviu’s Dream / Visul lui Liviu (2004)
- Starring: Doru Ana, Gabriel Spahiu
- Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
- Genre: Short, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.2
- Runtime: 39 minutes
This short film encapsulates the minimalist and ironic tone of the Romanian New Wave. It explores the existential frustrations of a man caught between fate and function, delivering a poignant emotional punch. In just under 40 minutes, Porumboiu dissects the social and emotional traps that haunt modern Romanians — blending humor with despair. Liviu’s Dream stands out not only as a remarkable debut but also as a compact commentary on the absurdity of post-communist life, where dreams often collide with unforgiving reality.
🎥 22. Loverboy (2011)
- Starring: George Piștereanu, Ada Condeescu
- Director: Cătălin Mitulescu
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- IMDb Rating: 6.2
- Runtime: 99 minutes
This disturbing love story examines the “Loverboy” method — a manipulation tactic where young men seduce girls to exploit them for human trafficking. Mitulescu takes a raw look at the emotional damage caused by this scheme, highlighting how intimacy becomes a tool for destruction. The cinematography captures the contrast between youthful innocence and psychological abuse, making Loverboy not just a cautionary tale, but a haunting portrait of lost morality in modern society.
🎥 23. Scarred Hearts / Inimi cicatrizate (2016)
- Starring: Lucian Teodor Rus, Ivana Mladenović
- Director: Radu Jude
- Genre: Historical, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 6.8
- Runtime: 141 minutes
Based on Max Blecher’s writings, this visually stylized period piece follows a young man suffering from bone tuberculosis in a 1930s seaside sanatorium. As he lives immobilized in a cast, he forges intense relationships and engages in philosophical reflections on illness, love, and mortality. Jude presents a unique blend of literary adaptation and theatrical composition, exploring how creativity and sensuality endure even in the face of extreme physical limitations. The film’s visual style — evocative of static, painterly frames — adds a haunting elegance to the existential despair at its core.
🎥 24. Tales from the Golden Age / Amintiri din epoca de aur (2009)
- Starring: Various
- Directors: Cristian Mungiu & others
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.6
- Runtime: 155 minutes
An inventive anthology of six short films based on urban legends from the final years of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s regime. Each episode balances dark humor and absurdity, revealing how ordinary people adapted to surreal rules and shortages through cleverness, conformity, or quiet rebellion. The directors use irony and nostalgia to depict the everyday ingenuity of Romanian citizens during communism. Whether satirizing bureaucracy, propaganda, or social rituals, Tales from the Golden Age offers a deeply human and unexpectedly funny portrait of life under dictatorship.
🎥 25. Why Me? / De ce eu? (2015)
- Starring: Emilian Oprea, Mihai Constantin
- Director: Tudor Giurgiu
- Genre: Thriller, Drama
- IMDb Rating: 7.0
- Runtime: 125 minutes
Based on the real-life case of Romanian prosecutor Cristian Panait, this intense legal thriller explores the high-stakes consequences of exposing political corruption. As the idealistic young lawyer begins investigating a fellow prosecutor, he finds himself manipulated, threatened, and isolated by those in power. The film exposes systemic rot and moral collapse with harrowing clarity. Oprea’s central performance anchors the emotional toll of seeking truth in a hostile environment, making Why Me? one of the most urgent and affecting political dramas in Romanian cinema.
🎬 Conclusion: Why These Romanian Movies Matter
These films don’t just entertain — they challenge perceptions, confront uncomfortable truths, and provide a raw glimpse into Romanian identity and history. Through unique cinematic voices and fearless storytelling, these Romanian movies continue to impact audiences around the world. They are a testament to the country’s resilience, imagination, and uncompromising vision. For deeper insight into Romania’s cinematic reputation, the European Film Academy provides a comprehensive look at its international achievements.
Across genres and generations, these films push the boundaries of cinematic form while maintaining a deep connection to cultural and social realities. From stories of political repression to intimate portrayals of daily struggles, Romanian filmmakers have embraced truth with rare artistic honesty. The minimalist aesthetic, long takes, and real-time tension are not just stylistic choices — they are vehicles for authenticity.
These movies have not only won awards but have sparked conversations, influenced film schools, and redefined international perceptions of Eastern European cinema. They often deal with the personal consequences of political and social decisions, revealing how corruption, love, tradition, and loss affect everyday lives in Romania.
Whether you are watching for their artistic brilliance or sociopolitical insights, these films offer powerful reflections on what it means to live in a society in flux. They linger long after the credits roll — not just in memory, but in the way they subtly shift how we understand people and places often underrepresented on screen.
