Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World is a subversive masterpiece

Much of Radu Jude’s latest film, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World, takes place in a car in Bucharest. It’s a kind of “day in the life” of a PA, Angela (Ilinca Manolache), who’s working on producing a safety video for an Austrian company trying to clean up its image. Shot in black and white but interrupted by flashes of colour — notably videos from Angela’s phone, a series of vulgar and hilarious TikToks she makes where she assumes the persona of Andrew Tate thanks to a filter that makes her bald and unibrowed — the film is a delicious hybrid of point of view. She drives across town for most of her day, meeting with people who suffered workplace injuries. She interviews them briefly, assembling a small collection of auditions to show their clients. She’s bombastic, persuasive and quick-tempered. One senses she could talk her way out of any problem.

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World showcases Jude’s talent for capturing the “moment.” In a cinematic landscape where the realistic trajectory of a project spans years, he taps into the zeitgeist from a wildly incisive and hilarious perspective. His productions and turnaround are quick. His previous film, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, was perhaps the funniest and darkest exploration of the pandemic. Impressively, he was able to articulate the way it coincided with the rise of fascism in the West via social media. Though running at nearly three hours, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World similarly captures an online kineticism as Jude has an innate sense and talent for subverting meme culture. Repetition and unpredictability add structure and suspense to the film, evoking contemporary life’s overwhelming but pointless decadence. The film isn’t just about channelling the chaos of modern life, though. It also features pointed criticism and portrayals of the exploitation of the worker within a corporate landscape that’s focused on the image of benevolence rather than the reality of what that might entail. 

This review was originally published as part of our coverage of TIFF 2023.

Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World is now playing in Montreal theatres.

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