ROMANIA – 2015 – DCP - 93 MINS
A FILM BY RADU MUNTEAN
After being the sole unfortunate witness to a domestic quarrel that ends up in a murder, Patrascu finds himself at odds with two very close neighbors: one is the bizarre murderer. The other is his very own conscience.
"Corban is spot-on perfect in the role of Sandu, an unglamorous everyman who maintains an outer veneer of normalcy while occasionally betraying an inner turmoil as he struggles with his conscience and fears."
- Toronto Star
"One Floor Below’ takes a common, adrenaline-fuelled plot and turns it into a slow burning thriller in which the anxiety gradually increases until it reaches the boiling point."
- Digital Journal
High Tension: An interview with One Floor Below filmmaker Radu Muntean
- Toronto Film Scene
"This film flew under the radar of many when it played at Cannes and TIFF last year, so it’s nice to see it getting a proper theatrical release during a time of year when there isn’t a heck of a lot of art-house competition outside of Oscar hopefuls. It’s definitely worth seeking out"
- Toronto Film Scene
An interview with Radu Muntean
- Film International
"It’s a film meant to leave audiences queasily stewing in their own moral juices, wondering what they would have done differently."
- Globe and Mail
"About as far from a Hollywood thriller as possible while still dipping its toes into the genre, ‘One Floor Below’ is a unique film worth seeking out and savoring for those tired of the bright, expensive and bombastic style of American filmmaking."
- High Def Digest
"Here’s a death where the facts don’t quite add up, and damned if Muntean is going to make them do so."
- National Post
Radu Muntean Talks ‘One Floor Below’ and Making Viewers Uncomfortable
- Way too indie
Radu Muntean on making a movie about amniguit
- NOW Magazine
"deep enough to yield a serious moral dilemma"
- Cinema Scope
"Slow burn suspense"
- Next Projection
"Muntean’s disciplined handling of tension allows him to mete out small amounts of anxiety throughout the film rather than going for a few big moments or shocks"
- Popshiter
"One Floor Below resists simple characterizations and motivations in favour of complex and opaque behaviour" (Video)
- Canadian Immigrant Song
"Muntean simply presents a situation, keeps the motivations and psychology under the surface, and lets the viewer make their own conclusions. It gives the film a richness, one that invites plenty of discussion and repeat viewings."
- Way Too Indie
NNNN "Romanian cinema doesn't do grand gestures; instead One Floor Below watches dispassionately as Sandu's complicity grinds against his conscience and stress fractures start to appear."
- NOW Magazine
"brilliantly executed slow-burn thriller"
- TIFF Riffs
"a good ride showing the lives, attitudes and behaviour of Romanians in Bucharest"
- Toronto Franco
One Floor Below has more than enough Hitchcockian suspense to keep audiences hooked to the very end.
- Cinema Axis
"an interesting reflection on guilt when a suspicious father a neighbor of killing his girlfriend"
- Requiem Pour Un Film