Twenty-something production assistant Angela (Manolache) leads a hectic life, most of it spent in her car, in Bucharest traffic. The team she toils day and night for are hired by a big German company to shoot a series of workplace safety films, using people who’ve been seriously injured. During short breaks Angela assumes the avatar of Bobita on Tik-Tok, a foul-mouthed bro out to offend. Angela’s story, reflecting modern-day Romania, gets contrasted with clips from a 1981 film from the communist era, one of whose stars figures in the modern story. Just how much has this country, and its people, really changed?

This wildly original feature from Radu Jude, combining an assortment of intriguing elements and narrative shifts for close to three hours, may frustrate some viewers; others like me will be delighted, laughing at the bawdy antics of Angela (winningly played by Manolache), and absorbing Jude’s revealing take on Romania’s troubled past and uncertain future. Director Boll appears in an amusing cameo, and Hoss makes a welcome appearance as a cool, chic German client. This “End of the World” takes its time, but it’s also bold, fresh filmmaking you won’t see coming out of Hollywood these days.