13 Best Romanian Movies to Watch

By Vlad Zakh · September 13, 2026

Romania Drama thought provoking slow and atmospheric

The Romanian New Wave turned bureaucratic absurdity and late-Communist memory into a globally recognised style almost overnight, using long takes, dry humour and a total refusal to sentimentalise. Sieranevada drags a family memorial out for hours over old grudges, The Whistlers has a corrupt cop learning a whistling language, and Beyond the Hills ends in tragedy as a young nun tries to rescue her childhood friend from a convent. Aferim! tracks a runaway slave across 19th-century Wallachia. Graduation, Child’s Pose, Police, Adjective, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu round out the list.

Sieranevada (2016)

TMDB ★ 7.3

An extended family's memorial gathering drags on for hours over old grudges and conspiracy theories.

Directed by Cristi Puiu · 2h 53m

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Whistlers (2019)

TMDB ★ 6.5

A corrupt cop learns a whistling language to communicate secretly during a criminal jailbreak scheme.

Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu · 1h 37m

Where to watch

Stream: Cinemax Amazon Channel, Klassiki, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Beyond the Hills (2012)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A young nun's attempt to rescue her childhood friend from a convent ends in tragedy.

Directed by Cristian Mungiu · 2h 30m

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Sundance Now

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Aferim! (2015)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A lawman and his son track a runaway Roma slave across 19th-century Wallachia.

Directed by Radu Jude · 1h 48m

Where to watch

Stream: OVID · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Graduation (2016)

TMDB ★ 7.3

A father's small compromise to secure his daughter's university place spirals into a moral unravelling.

Directed by Cristian Mungiu · 2h 08m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Sundance Now · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Child's Pose (2013)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A domineering mother uses every connection she has to protect her son after a fatal car accident.

Directed by Călin Peter Netzer · 1h 44m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Police, Adjective (2009)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A cop's reluctance to arrest a teenager for marijuana becomes a bureaucratic standoff over the meaning of the law.

Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu · 1h 50m

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

12:08 East of Bucharest (2006)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A small-town talk show tries to settle whether their town really took part in the 1989 revolution.

Directed by Corneliu Porumboiu · 1h 29m

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A dying man is shuttled between hospitals overnight while doctors argue over who should treat him.

Directed by Cristi Puiu · 2h 34m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A student helps her roommate arrange an illegal abortion in the last years of Communist Romania.

Directed by Cristian Mungiu · 1h 54m

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021)

TMDB ★ 6.4

A schoolteacher's leaked private video puts her career on trial before outraged parents.

Directed by Radu Jude · 1h 46m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Touch Me Not (2018)

TMDB ★ 5.9

A documentary-fiction hybrid follows several people confronting their own discomfort with intimacy and the body.

Directed by Adina Pintilie · 2h 05m

Where to watch

Stream: MUBI

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Malmkrog (2020)

TMDB ★ 6.6

Aristocrats at a lavish 19th-century estate debate war, faith and morality across one increasingly tense gathering.

Directed by Cristi Puiu · 3h 21m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

13 Best Romanian Movies to Watch

Sieranevada (2016)

The Whistlers (2019)

Beyond the Hills (2012)

Aferim! (2015)

Graduation (2016)

Child's Pose (2013)

Police, Adjective (2009)

12:08 East of Bucharest (2006)

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (2021)

Touch Me Not (2018)

Malmkrog (2020)

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