Berlinale Review: Kontinental ’25 Demonstrates That Radu Jude Has No Further Proof to Offer

      “The id becomes tiresome,” art critic Jackson Arn noted recently, “when allowed to express itself too freely.” Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude manages to control this by anchoring embellishments in sheer ordinariness. Toward the end of Kontinental ’25, an ex-professor, Orsolya (Eszter Tompa), and her former student, Fred (Adonis Tanța), sit by an anti-communist resistance monument in Cluj, observing a horrifying video of a drone strike on a Russian soldier. Having discovered the lifeless body of a man she had evicted earlier that day, Orsolya, now working as a bailiff, seeks to unwind. They ascend a hill, and Fred—whose delivery bag is covered in Romanian flags to avoid being mistaken for immigrant gig workers—sings to her. They then engage in sexual activity in the bushes. Up until this moment, the film has been filled with ideas and vaguely apocalyptic visuals: Roman ruins, a robotic dog, a dinosaur park, close-up footage of the Hindenburg disaster, and a scene from Robert Aldrich’s atomic-era horror film Kiss Me Deadly. This combination should feel overwhelming, yet Jude manages to keep everything coherent.

      Situated between his highly regarded Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World and his upcoming Dracula project, Kontinental was destined to carry the scent of a b-side, but it emerges as a rich and substantial piece. Focusing on Romania’s housing crisis, it bombards the audience with stimuli, visual humor, and contrasting elements. It’s not too long ago one could recall a time when such an overwhelming amount of information felt disconcerting, but anyone who has scrolled through TikTok or Instagram Reels in the past year will recognize these rhythms with a wry sense of familiarity. No other filmmaker has managed to convey this sensation as fluently as Jude, which cements his status as one of the most significant directors working today.

      Kontinental begins with Ion (played by Romanian New Wave veteran Gabriel Spahiu), who is about to be evicted, scavenging for bottles at a dinosaur park. That night, while asleep in his room, police arrive, threatening to throw him out. Choosing to avoid a life on the streets, he opts to take his own life by strangulation. When Orsolya finds his body the following day, she experiences a moral crisis and navigates through the city like many of Jude’s protagonists before her, seeking comfort, reassurance, and validation—from her partner initially, and later from her mother, her best friend, and her priest. (In press notes, the director has called it an homage to Rossellini’s Europa ’51, a sentiment reflected in its poster.) Jude employs this familiar structure to delve into various issues: nationalism and faith, the treacherous implications of post-Soviet capitalism (classic themes), and the ongoing housing crisis. While it may not feature the highest quality (some images are somewhat rough, and there are a few noticeable slow patches), there's still more depth to explore in any ten minutes of Kontinental ’25 than most films manage in their entire duration.

      A friend who attended an earlier screening referred to Kontinental ’25 as Jude entering his “Hong phase,” referencing the South Korean director’s recent shift towards prioritizing quantity, control, and spontaneity over what is traditionally deemed “production value.” Jude is one of the few directors who can match Hong’s output, and Kontinental indeed carries elements reminiscent of the South Korean’s style: a film seemingly captured spontaneously, built around three or four diverse conversations, with characters who are humorously inebriated. Alternatively, one could argue that Jude has achieved a similar level of recognition. It was surprising when Bad Luck Banging or Looney Porn won the Golden Bear during the pandemic, but even mainstream critics included Do Not Expect on their year-end lists. Now Jude is mentioned by Martin Scorsese. He is a unique artist brimming with ideas and has nothing left to prove.

      Kontinental ’25 made its debut at the 2025 Berlinale.