A global pandemic poses unique challenges for filmmakers. Each country has their own set of rules and regulation, which can change with little or no warning. How could it be possible to make a film within these parameters, ensuring the safety of the cast and crew was paramount? Many productions closed down. Others changed location or formed bubbles. Radu Jude chose to simply go with the flow in Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, using the crisis as part of the story.
Emi Cilibiu (Katia Pascariu) is not having the best of days. In fact, it probably couldn’t be much worse for the well-respected history teacher who works at a prominent Romanian secondary school. The private sex tape she filmed with her husband has been uploaded and shared online and now the parents are out for blood. On her way to a meeting with the headmistress (Claudia Ieremia) and the angry horde, she has to negotiate the streets of the city. Enduring the daily intolerances of life in the country.
It’s unlikely that you’ve seen anything quite like Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, but if you’re a fan of la nouvelle vague then you’ll at least recognise many of the key elements. Presented in three chapters, Jude takes us on a very modern journey. One which tackles the myriad ills of modern Romanian society. Especially, the way women are treated and the hypocrisy surrounding this. It’s very odd, and very explicit, so be warned, but Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is also darkly amusing and thought-provoking. Even if everything doesn’t quite work.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is released in select US theatres on 19 November and in the UK on 26 November.
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