Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a social satire unencumbered by moderation. Following Emi (Katia Pascariu), a schoolteacher who finds her reputation under threat after a personal sex tape becomes public, Romanian writer-director Radu Jude’s film is a master class in breaking taboos. The film opens with a bang, or banging rather, dropping viewers right into the aforementioned sex tape. Emi is, of course, forced to meet the students’ parents who are demanding her dismissal, but with sheer conviction, she refuses to surrender. A cutting critique of the moral panic surrounding sex that asks why more pressing political issues don’t receive the same attention, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn shares a strong point of view capable of captivating viewers. Told in three parts, the film’s middle is a playful essay on obscenities, and the end is a proper climax. It’s messy at times, sure, but hey, so is sex. In Romanian with subtitles. 106 min.
Wide release November 19.