12:08 East of Bucharest

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12:08 East of Bucharest

2006

1h 29m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

On the anniversary of the overthrow of President Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanian talk show host Virgil Jderescu (Teo Corban) arranges a program dedicated to analyzing the town of Vaslui's role in the revolution. He recruits a strange cast of characters to answer questions, including Emanoil Piscoci (Mircea Andreescu) and Tiberiu Manescu (Ion Sapdaru). What they find, in a comedic examination of revolution, is that many Romanians question whether Vaslui had any role at all in the revolution.

Critics Consensus

With a witty script full of satirical overtones and dry humor, 12:08 East of Bucharest is a thoroughly enjoyable Romanian comedy.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Jul 5, 2023

Porumboiu keeps his perspective: calm but not impassive, skeptical but not cynical, he reinforces an air of normalcy and an essential fearlessness that characterize life since the fall of the tyrant.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Dec 4, 2007

Dry comedies from eastern Europe tend to cast a skeptical eye on anything and everything, which is certainly the case with Corneliu Porumboiu's debut feature.

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John Monaghan

Detroit Free Press

Nov 30, 2007

2/4

12:08 East of Bucharest is easier to admire than enjoy, funnier to describe than actually watch.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

May 21, 2026

6/10

In just 85 minutes, Porumboiu directs it with an austere style that sometimes resorts to dry humor, but his satirical portrait is somewhat regular when it questions memory and the fragility of historical truth. [Full review in Spanish]

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Apr 6, 2026

It’s insidiously, slyly funny, but also a shrewd look at how people have rewritten (or at least recast) history to suit their own purposes in post-Soviet Romania.

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Kevin Jagernauth

The Playlist

Dec 7, 2013

A

...12:08 East Of Bucharest doesn't pretend to have a position on the fallout of the Romanian Revolution. Instead it contends that different questions need to be asked and considered about post-Communist life...

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Henry D

@Henry_Domke Aug 8, 2026

Good dry humor. Minor. Perhaps if we knew more about Romanian history we could have appreciated it more.

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S R

@ScottR Jun 2, 2024

Saw it for it's title alone and it surprised me. Showed me a side of Romania I had never seen and the wry humor and cynicism were at times painful. It did take on some fascinating issues of what a revolution is all about and what makes a revolutionary, but the plot culminated in a bizarre tv show that was a let down. RUS.

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Alec B

@Alec97 Jan 10, 2024

An amusing dissection of how people try to contextualize major historical events they witnessed.

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dave s

@RT68722908 Jan 22, 2022

Set in the small city of Vaslui, a Romanian television host assembles a panel to discuss the role of the city in the national revolution that drove Nicolae Ceausescu from power in 1989. 12:08 East of Bucharest starts slowly and admittedly drags a bit over the first half, but the actual TV broadcast of the ‘debate' is comedy gold. Using primarily stationary cameras, a bland color pallet and grainy film stock, the movie has an appropriately austere look to it, complimented by the deadpan and dry performances from the entire cast. The laughs kick in when it becomes evident that the town may have played no role in the ousting of the dictator as those who recall the events begin to clash over their interpretation of the events of the day. The humor is subtle but undoubtedly effective in its execution.

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Feb 25, 2021

An amusing dissection of how people try to contextualize major historical events they witnessed.

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Fong Kok Hoong F

@RT29722865 Aug 8, 2018

Winning Cannes Palme d'Or, this Romanian political satire commemorates the 1989 Romanian Revolution and the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu with a wry comedy following a hard-drinking history teacher, a Santa Claus-playing pensioner and an inept television journalist as they converge in a broadcast to discuss the myth of their hometown's involvement in the violent period, with self-deprecatingly slapstick consequences.

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Corneliu Porumboiu

Director

Mircea Andreescu

Piscoci

Teo Corban

Manescu

Ion Sapdaru

Jderescu

Mirela Cioaba

Doamna Manescu

Lucian Iftime

Lica

El Método Tangalanga

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75%

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Synopsis

On the anniversary of the overthrow of President Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanian talk show host Virgil Jderescu (Teo Corban) arranges a program dedicated to analyzing the town of Vaslui's role in the revolution. He recruits a strange cast of characters to answer questions, including Emanoil Piscoci (Mircea Andreescu) and Tiberiu Manescu (Ion Sapdaru). What they find, in a comedic examination of revolution, is that many Romanians question whether Vaslui had any role at all in the revolution.

Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
Producer: Corneliu Porumboiu
Screenwriter: Corneliu Porumboiu
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: Romanian
Release Date (DVD): Oct 9, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA): $89.5K
Runtime: 1h 29m

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