Based on Romanian author Cecilia Stefanescu’s novel of the same name, this coming-of-age story marks a coming-ofage for Romanian cinema as well. Dodging overt political content, Love Sick tackles its controversial subject matter with a rare sensitivity and surprising sweetness.

Kiki, an outspoken urban girl from Bucharest, and Alex, a timid rural girl from Pietrosita, meet at university and become fast friends. Neither can deny their sexual attraction to one another, and their friendship soon gives way to the dizzying heights of first love. Their feverish relationship soon attracts the attention of Kiki’s brother Sandu, who has some clandestine passions of his own.

Caught between entrenched (but deeply dysfunctional) traditional values and the desperate need for change, Kiki and Alex’s relationship parallels a larger cultural narrative: a country in the process of transformation.