Radu Jude is probably the most chaotic filmmaker working today. I mean that as a high compliment. If you’ve been scrolling through streaming platforms or checking out the festival circuit lately, you’ve likely bumped into the title Don't Expect Much from the End of the World. It’s long. It’s clunky. It feels like a threat and a joke at the same time. Honestly? That’s exactly what the movie is. It’s a Romanian black comedy that captures the soul-crushing reality of the 21st-century "hustle" better than any sleek Hollywood production ever could.
The film follows Angela. She’s an overworked production assistant for a multinational company in Bucharest. She spends her days—and most of her nights—driving through horrific traffic, scout-filming testimonials for a workplace safety video. The irony is so thick you can practically taste the exhaust fumes. While she's supposed to be filming people talking about "safety," she’s actually being driven to the brink of total exhaustion by her own employers.
The Grind Behind Don't Expect Much from the End of the World
Let’s talk about the structure. It’s messy. Jude doesn't give you a clean three-act play. Instead, he cuts between Angela’s current reality and footage from a 1981 Ceaușescu-era film called Angela Moves On. By doing this, he shows that while the political systems have changed, the exploitation of the working class hasn't really budged. It’s just rebranded. Back then it was communism; now it’s "corporate social responsibility."
Angela is played by Ilinca Manolache with a level of grit that feels terrifyingly real. She’s tired. Her eyes are puffy. She uses a vulgar, bald-headed TikTok filter to post rants as an alter-ego named "Bobita." It’s her only outlet. In these moments, Don't Expect Much from the End of the World stops being just a movie and starts feeling like a documentary of our collective burnout. We all have a "Bobita" inside us, screaming at the screen because our boss sent an email at 11 PM.
The plot kicks into gear when Angela has to find a victim of a workplace accident who is "charismatic" enough for the corporate video. The company wants someone who will take the blame for their own injury. They want to avoid a lawsuit while looking like they care. It’s cynical. It’s dark. It’s basically how the world works now.
Why the Title Isn't Just Hyperbole
You might think the title refers to a literal apocalypse. Like, meteors or zombies. It doesn't. Radu Jude is quoting the Polish aphorist Stanislaw Jerzy Lec. The "end of the world" in this context is the slow, grinding erosion of human dignity. It's the way we've accepted that being "productive" is more important than being alive.
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- The traffic in Bucharest acts as a secondary character.
- The endless Zoom calls with corporate handlers in Austria show the distance between those who make the rules and those who suffer them.
- The use of 16mm black-and-white film for the modern segments makes the present look as dated and grim as the past.
There is a specific scene where Angela meets an executive played by Nina Hoss. They talk about marketing and "values" while standing in a cold, sterile office. It highlights the total disconnect between the people who write the mission statements and the people who actually have to drive 16 hours a day to make those statements a reality.
A Lesson in Modern Nihilism
Most movies try to give you a "message" or a "glimmer of hope." Jude doesn't do that. He’s too honest for that. Don't Expect Much from the End of the World suggests that the apocalypse isn't a single event. It’s a series of small, daily humiliations.
Is it funny? Yes. Hilarious, actually. But it's the kind of laughter that makes your throat hurt. You're laughing at the absurdity of a woman filming a "safety" video while she’s so tired she might actually die in a car crash. The film even features a cameo by Uwe Boll—the infamous director known for his "trash" movies and for literally boxing his critics. His presence adds another layer of "what is happening?" to the whole experience. It challenges our idea of what "high art" and "low art" even are anymore.
Breaking Down the Visual Style
Jude uses a very specific aesthetic here. The 1981 footage is in vibrant color. The 2023 footage is in grainy black and white. It’s a complete reversal of what we usually expect. Usually, the past is "old" (black and white) and the present is "new" (color). By flipping it, Jude suggests that the past actually had more life, more hope, and more "color" than the grey, corporate wasteland we inhabit today.
The camera often just sits there. It watches Angela drive. It watches her wait. It captures the boredom. Most films skip the "boring" parts of life, but Don't Expect Much from the End of the World knows that the "boring" parts are where the real tragedy happens. That's where the exhaustion sets in.
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The Viral Impact of Bobita
We have to talk about the TikTok filter. Angela’s "Bobita" character is foul-mouthed, misogynistic, and aggressive. It’s a mask. In a world where she has to be a polite, subservient assistant all day, becoming a disgusting caricature is the only way she feels free. It’s a fascinating commentary on how we use social media to vent the parts of ourselves that aren't "office-appropriate."
It also reflects the fractured nature of our attention spans. The movie jumps from a serious conversation about labor rights to a 15-second screaming match on a phone screen. It’s jarring. It’s exactly what it feels like to be alive in 2024, 2025, or 2026.
Real World Context: The Romanian New Wave
Radu Jude belongs to the "Romanian New Wave," a movement known for its stark realism and dark humor. Think of films like The Death of Mr. Lazarescu or 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. These directors don't care about making you feel good. They care about showing you the truth.
However, Jude is moving away from the "minimalism" of his peers. He’s becoming more experimental. He’s throwing everything at the wall—found footage, social media clips, old movies, and long takes. Don't Expect Much from the End of the World is the peak of this "maximalist" style. It’s 163 minutes long, and honestly, it needs to be. You need to feel the weight of Angela’s day. You need to feel as tired as she is by the time the credits roll.
What You Can Learn from Angela’s Journey
If you’re looking for a takeaway, it’s probably a warning. The film isn't just a critique of Romania; it’s a critique of global capitalism. It asks: How much of yourself are you willing to sell for a paycheck?
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- Recognize the "Performative" Work Culture: The company in the film doesn't want to fix safety issues; they want to look like they are fixing them. Look around your own job. How much time is spent on "optics" versus actual results?
- The Danger of Constant Connectivity: Angela is never "off." Her phone is a tether. If you don't set boundaries, your employer will happily consume every hour of your life.
- Humor as a Survival Mechanism: Sometimes, the only way to deal with a ridiculous situation is to be even more ridiculous. Don't be afraid to find the absurdity in the grind.
Taking Action: How to Watch and What to Look For
If you want to actually watch Don't Expect Much from the End of the World, don't go in expecting a standard narrative. Treat it like a collage.
- Look for the small details: The posters in the background, the trash on the streets, the specific way people talk to service workers.
- Pay attention to the sound: The constant hum of the city is intentional. It’s meant to be oppressive.
- Don't skip the "old" Angela scenes: They aren't just filler. They are the mirror that shows how little progress we’ve actually made.
The ending of the film—a long, agonizingly slow shoot of the final testimonial—is one of the most powerful things put on screen in years. It shows the process of how a person’s truth is edited, manipulated, and ultimately erased to serve a corporate narrative. It’s devastating.
To get the most out of this, watch it on a night when you're feeling a bit cynical about your own 9-to-5. It won't make you feel "better," but it will make you feel seen. Sometimes, knowing that someone else sees the madness is enough to keep you going.
Stop expecting the end of the world to be a big, cinematic event with explosions. It’s happening right now, one unpaid overtime hour at a time. The best thing you can do is keep your eyes open, find your version of "Bobita" to vent the pressure, and refuse to let the grind turn you into a monochrome version of yourself. Check your local indie theater listings or MUBI, as that's where this kind of gold usually lives. Just don't check your work emails while you're watching it.