Graduation
A physician’s determination to secure his daughter’s future exposes the moral compromises woven into family life and a decaying social system.
Overview
A father's love is tested when his daughter's future hangs by a thread after a violent attack.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- melancholic
- morally complex
- serious film night
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as an intricately written, powerfully acted, deeply intelligent examination of morality and societal decay.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Romeo considers manipulating institutions and abandoning his principles to protect Eliza’s educational future after her assault.
The plot connects school examinations, police procedures, medical authority, and informal favors to a broader atmosphere of societal decay.
Romeo’s decisions unfold through controlled domestic and bureaucratic encounters rather than melodramatic spectacle.
Eliza’s scholarship and final exams become the focus of competing parental hopes, personal agency, and the consequences of assault.
Films like Graduation, and why
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
morally complex Romanian social realism centered on institutional decay and compromised personal ethics
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Romanian New Wave realism, intimate family conflict, and quietly escalating ethical pressure
The Hunt
European family drama examining parental control, social institutions, and morally ambiguous choices
Fish Tank
adolescent vulnerability, parental desperation, and tense realist scrutiny of social systems
Movie Details
- Director
- Cristian Mungiu
- Release Date
- 2016-05-20
- Runtime
- 128 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (316)
Cast
- Adrian Titieni
- Maria Dragus
- Lia Bugnar
- Vlad Ivanov
- Emanuel Pârvu
- Lucian Ifrim
- Gheorghe Ifrim
- Adrian Văncică
- Tudor Smoleanu
- Liliana Mocanu
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Sundance Now
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Graduation about?
- A physician’s determination to secure his daughter’s future exposes the moral compromises woven into family life and a decaying social system.
- What is Graduation like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Graduation as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Graduation violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Graduation as mild.
- What did critics think of Graduation?
- Critics broadly praised the film as an intricately written, powerfully acted, deeply intelligent examination of morality and societal decay.
- Which films are like Graduation?
- Films with a similar feel include 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, The Hunt, and Fish Tank.
- How long is Graduation?
- Graduation runs 128 minutes.
- Where can I watch Graduation?
- In United States, Graduation streams on Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Sundance Now.
