When a Romanian police officer and his friends set up a robbery, but lead passers by into believing they’re shooting a film, the embarrassment to the communist state could not stand. What followed was an extraordinary attempt to spin the group as dangerous criminals through propaganda, leading to a filmed reenactment starring the perpetrators, filmed by a young man who is clearly in way over his head.

Settled somewhere between the dramatic and the comedic, Closer to the Moon is adeptly presented through lighting, costumes, scoring and camera, while also well performed by Vera Farmiga, Mark Strong, Harry Lloyd and co. It’s reassuring to watch a Euro-soup production where the actors don’t talk in “outrageous accents” and are in no way coasting with flat line delivery and nonchalance.

While acted adequately and technically “on point”, there is little here to blow the roof off. This is, in effect, Sunday afternoon viewing and probably leans closer to The Book Thief and The Monuments Men in terms of its target audience. A perfectly serviceable motion picture based on true events but it’s not likely to hold your attention long after leaving the theatre.

Closer to the Moon is released later this month.

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