Puiu’s depiction of it all makes for an alienating watch, and on emerging from his maze, it’s hard to know exactly where you’ve been, or why Puiu has chosen to take you there

Puiu’s microscopic approach proves to be more unnerving than usual... and one wonders if the film might feel more approachable as a cranky time capsule decades from now

,,Cristi Puiu’s MMXX is immersive in an entirely different way: it plunges us directly into the lives of its characters, refusing convenient signposts and leaving us to navigate for ourselves the maze of its often elusive meaning.''

,,As you are groping for an idea of who these people are, you are glued to the screen, hanging on their every word.''

,,Puiu displays his usual ability to explore the characters, and the central themes of their stories, through their conversations, long and lively, sometimes dizzying and overwhelming.''

,,The latest from Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu comprises four salty slices of pandemic-era life which range from the outwardly comic to the overtly grizzly.''

,,But what MMXX demonstrates with such acuity is how its characters’ usual ways of getting a grip on the world have given way.''