Movies

After being evicted from his shelter in the basement of a house put up for sale, a homeless man commits suicide. Orsolya, a court bailiff tasked with carrying out the eviction, struggles in various ways to cope with her feelings of guilt. This blend of drama and comedy is set in Cluj, an ethnically diverse city in Transylvania, which, amid its transformation into a so-called “smart city,” experiences violent gentrification, deepening class inequalities, and chaotic urban development.

With absurdist sharpness, Jude dissects diverse yet complementary themes—housing crises, post-socialist economies, nationalism, and the power of language to petrify social status—while simultaneously paying homage to Rossellini’s Europe ’51, more in the form of caricature than metaphysical tragedy. This film is less a satire and more a reflection on the absurd and complex ways people respond to tragic events, whether they unfold in close proximity or are consumed from the safe distance of ubiquitous screens.