Graduation

"A father will do anything to save his daughter's future"

2016 2h 8m RO

👍

6.8

SOLID

🔥

94%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 317🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes●84Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 15,730

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After his daughter is assaulted and left with an injury that may jeopardize her opportunity to study in the UK, a Romanian doctor decides to do whatever it takes to secure her future.

“A father will do anything to save his daughter's future”

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Cast

Adrian Titieni
Romeo Aldea
Maria Dragus
Eliza
Lia Bugnar
Magda
Vlad Ivanov
Chief Inspector
Emanuel Pârvu
Procurorul Ivaşcu
Lucian Ifrim
Albu Marin
Gheorghe Ifrim
Agent Sandu
Adrian Văncică
Gelu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Cristian Mungiu
Writers: Cristian Mungiu
Languages: Romanian
Countries: Romania, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Romania, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Cristian Mungiu, shot by Tudor Vladimir Panduru. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Mircea Olteanu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Adrian Titieni and Maria Dragus and Lia Bugnar carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A father will do anything to save his daughter's future".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4936450 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Cristian Mungiu directs. Tudor Vladimir Panduru behind the camera. Mircea Olteanu cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Romania, France. Dialogue in Romanian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 10 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Romania, France.
4Directed by Cristian Mungiu, shot by Tudor Vladimir Panduru. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Mircea Olteanu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Adrian Titieni and Maria Dragus and Lia Bugnar carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A father will do anything to save his daughter's future".
8IMDB entry: tt4936450 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "assault", "graduation", "final exam", "rape attempt".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tudor Vladimir Panduru
Editing: Mircea Olteanu
Production design: Simona Pădurețu
Sound: Olivier Dô Hùu
Runtime: 128 min · 2h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $2,015,002
Return: 101% of budget
Original language: RO
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Graduation (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 84/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 15,730 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

11 wins & 28 nominations total

Also by

Cristian Mungiu

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2017-05-16
★ 7/10
A father's desperate attempt for his daughter. From the director of 'Beyond the Hills'. I have not seen many Romanian films, but a couple of his films, so I had an anticipation and it fulfilled that. If you are familiar with his works, you will love it too as well. It is an Oscar material like 'Toni Erdmann', but Romania had sent a different film. The film had achieved multiple things, including majorly highlighting the social issues and the education system, particularly from the parent's perspective. But it is basically about a father and his desperate attempts for his daughter for her better future. So it is something like 'Fathers & Daughter', but on one particular topic and the on- screen presentation was so realistic without the background score. Everything revolved around what the title suggested. A father who is professionally a doctor wants to provide a better education for his daughter. While facing a series of vandalism, his family gets a major shock after an unexpected terrible event. It was just before the daughter's annual exam. So it seems they're all disturbed by it, but the father is still not giving up on his daughter's exam, which requires a better score to get into the best university in the world. Apart from that, his other side of the personal and professional life takes some major turns. The film reveals all his struggles while breaking some moral laws. ❝Sometimes, in life, it's the result that counts.❞ The tale was told from the father's perspective and that character was seen almost in every frame. A good father knows what's best for his child, but sometimes crossing limits is what they do because of love and care. On the other hand, growing up kids, especially turning eighteen means that's when they actually begin to meet the real world. So basically they want to lose their parents' influence in their life as much as possible like when a baby bird starting to stretch its wings. Those stuffs were not prioritised here, but understandable from the developments we witness. From the social aspect, the corruption and educational demands, that's especially in the high scoring contest were the deriving plots from the main. The film could have been 10-15 minutes shorter if the father's professional side of the tale was not covered. It looked unnecessary, but fairly the part of the story when a slice of his life was what this film is about. I think not everybody sees the film's intention which is definitely not entertainment, nor inspiration, but kind of fact based on the parents. Yeah, I would have done almost the same as what the father has done in this. But due to some parallel developments in the main story, he had to face extra pressure from his own family. So unexpected way the narration takes the turn towards the final section. That's disappointing if you had supported the father from the very beginning. But a lesson he had learnt for his approach to deal the affair that he thought is slipping away from his master plan. Overall, a very good film, something you will learn how some people plan to deal a difficult stage of their life that's impacted by other surrounding developments. My only, slight disappointment was the crime part of the story which did not meet my expectation, but in most of the case that's how reality would be. So this is for particularly the drama film fans, because coping with the pace requires a little patience. 7/10
CinemaSerf2025-01-25
★ 7/10
When their teenage daughter "Eliza" (Maria Dragus) has a violent altercation outside of her school, her doctor father "Romeo" (Adrian Titieni) and her librarian mother "Magda" (Lia Bugnar) are faced with quite a few complex parenting decisions - and not only do they often disagree between themselves, but their daughter is also reprioritising things and this whole commotion is causing the couple to reappraise their own relationship. "Eliza" is on the cusp of taking her final examinations that could see her study psychology at Cambridge and her parents are keen that she leave their Transylvanian community and experience a new, in their view more civilised, world. Her trauma after an attempted rape is making it difficult to concentrate and with her father pushing and pushing, she begins to reconsider just as decidedly as he is determined she shouldn't. Meantime, her mother is smoking her way thrugh 50-a-day and realising a few things of her own. This all comes to an head when we discover something rather unsavoury about "Romeo" and everything is now well and truly up in the air. Essentially, this is an unremarkable family drama the likes of which we've seen a few times before. What's a bit different here, I felt, is the standard of the writing. These actors are immersed in their characters and deliver quite potently as their predicaments expand to the point that their lives are likely to be permanently derailed - all whilst the father becomes more and more frustrated. It's perhaps this role that punches hardest. A man who has struggled to grow up under Romanian communism and who is determined that his daughter will have the best opportunities money can buy - whether she likes it or not! There are a few intrigues going on simultaneously, which remind us that though a great deal more free than thirty years earlier, there is still a degree of state snooping going on in the lives of the population. It is a bit on the long side, and there are some repetitive scenes that slow down the pace, but the roles are strongly and evocatively performed and for those with children with big decisions to make, it is bound to resonate somewhat.