Storyline

In a small town, the state-owned car factory, which employs almost all the local men, is about to be privatized. What the workers do not know is that their manager plans to make money from the deal and approaches two French businessmen, father and son, who are interested in buying the factory but intend to convert it into a snail cannery. There is not much space in their plan for the thousands of workers, but the only one who struggles to save the factory is the union leader. His crazy solution scares his fellow workers somewhat, as it involves them selling their sperm to an American sperm bank.

Plot Keywords

snail, animal in title

Short Review

Tudor Giurgiu's energetic and sly direction perfectly captures all the flavours of 1990's Romania in this tongue-in-cheek funny, yet flawed satire. Starring Andi Vasluianu, Romanian cinema's go-to actor for a confident and charismatic every-man, Of Snails and Men is not your run of the mill 'save the company' comedy, it's more of an incisive commentary on the macabre comedy that Romanian politics used to be in the grim transition from communism to capitalism. Fearless, creatively written and well acted as it is, the film, though, lacks in consistency, due to its loose structure and abundancy of chaotic pacing shifts.Ultimately, even though everyone involved clearly had a lot of fun making this film, due to the production's shortcomings regarding form and structure, the subject feels a tad unexplored, in spite of all the breathtaking accuracy of the times and laugh-out-loud scenes.

Trailer

Streaming Service

1. Amazon Video : Rent from $1.99, Or $0.00 with a Prime membership