When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism

Typical of Porumboiu’s cinema, When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism deals with “the rules of the game,” but the “game” here is filmmaking and the rules, expounded upon at length by director Paul (Bogdan Dumitrache) to actor Alina (Diana Avramut), range from the limits on the length of a shot to the requirement for a nude scene. Consisting of fourteen static shots, When Evening Falls cleverly explores the structural elements of cinema and the power dynamics inherent in filmmaking (and sex), and still finds time for a debate on the influence of chopsticks on the development of Chinese cuisine.