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elementarydearwatson
Reviews
Operatiunea 'Monstrul' (1976)
Marin Moraru, comedy at its best
The movie is an absurd comedy with probably low budget and little "action" if any. Comunist potentates, probably typical characters for the Eastern Europe in the seventies, flee their wives and jobs for a couple of days and go fishing on a quest to hunt down some local myth: a monster of a fish. What makes the movie worth while are the performances by representatives of a great generation of Romanian actors.
Much better than... Alan Alda, for instance, Marin Moraru had a great theater career in Romania but also some film appearances that should place him among the classics of comedy. He should be up there with Chaplin and Buster Keaton. "Operatiunea Monstrul", sadly flawed by poor light, sound, and probably cheap pellicle, is nevertheless a showcase for Marin Moraru, Octavian Cotescu and Toma Caragiu, all "monsters" of Romanian comedy. I only wish someone would translate it in English and circulate it a little. At least the acting classes would greatly benefit from the exposure.
I'd rate it 8 out of 10, if only for patriotism.