User Reviews

This is one of my favorite movies! I am not tired yet of re-watching it. It definitely deserves to be promoted worldwide. The delight is continuous due to its subtle situation humor and the formidable performances from three of the greatest Romanian actors ever: Toma Caragiu, Octavian Cotescu and Marin Moraru. And all those meaningful unfinished phrases, and the pomp of the "specialist" fishermen, and their unspoken rivalry transferred from work in that leisure situation, and so on, and so on. Great script, great actors, low budget, a really great movie, which MUST be revived.

A couple of communist businessmen go fishing while their wives think they're on a business trip. They take along two of their friends and side-kicks and a somewhat unstable children book writer fella who's providing them with a means of transportation.

Once there, they set up a camp and make plans for catching the biggest fish around those waters, legendarily called `The Monster'. While the action drags on, the movie is great in depicting the mentality and attitudes of socially important people back in communist times.

The leading actor, Toma Caragiu, delivers exceptionally as the flamboyant leader of the group, self-righteous and passing judgement at every step, with great self-irony. A great performance by Octavian Cotescu, who depicts another influential socialist figure, bent onto bragging either about places he has visited abroad or the fabulous things he had acquired there. Marin Moraru is their inadvertedly funny right-hand man in the office and their delivery boy and messenger during this whole trip.

The movie is great and definitely delivers, yet hindered by its technical flaws.

Finesse is the word to characterize this movie. It was done in the year I was born, but I still enjoy it and I think it describes perfectly those times... I still wonder how it was possible for this movie to be made considering the fact the communism was at it's apogee in that era... The answer is either the finesse of the script, of the actors and everything was so wonderful that it just slipped past the censorship or the finesse was so sublime that even the censorship would have had a very difficult task to prove any criticism was brought to the system... Thas why I think this movie is one to remember... of course, there are other things of interest beside the subtle criticism of the system, which are very entertaining. The movie is about the relationship between people in the purest form and a lesson about what they are in every situation. Even in a vacation no one else know about, in the middle of the Danube Delta.

This is a great movie that's my opinion and I like it that much because it replicates very well the atmosphere of a fishing day in the Delta together with a group of great actors and a very nice storyline.It's a really good comedy, one of the best Romanian comedy's I've seen it many times but I always forgot to see who composed the music / soundtrack so, does anybody know who composed the music or the soundtrack of this movie?I'm interested especially about the final title(generic).I searched desperately on the internet and I haven't found anything, not a single complete archive or description of this movie containing info about the soundtrack. If someone could help me I'd thank you very much

"Operatiunea Monstrul" is a very well structured film, with actors who can be named "monsters of cinematography", great dialogues. It's an example of how a low budget film may become a big success through its actors, scenography and talent of the director.

I think that this film has no problem if being compared with other productions from Hollywood because it looks and sounds very real, and is very closed to the heart of the target public: the romanian people.

What is very very interesting is that although the film is a parody of the communist system from that days in Romania, the censure did not react as I expect. Another words, bravo !

Now this movie is simply awesome! It's by far the best ever produced in the history of romanian movies! Toma Caragiu's sublime acting make it unforgettable! Just imagine under what sort of circumstances the movie was made - ubiquitous communism! In a time where freedom of speech was simply utopian the actors simply overcome this imprisonment through subtle and subliminal commy jokes. The comprehensive understanding of this movie is limited to those able to overstand the romanian language as well as for the versed viewer and connoisseur of romanian history, which may count imho as the only drawback of the movie, apart from the poor audio/video quality - but hey, remember it's 1976 in communist Romania?!??? Well 'nuff said, but remember: don't even try to start a conversation about romanian movies if you didn't see this work of art!

The movie is an absurd comedy with probably low budget and little "action" if any. Comunist potentates, probably typical characters for the Eastern Europe in the seventies, flee their wives and jobs for a couple of days and go fishing on a quest to hunt down some local myth: a monster of a fish. What makes the movie worth while are the performances by representatives of a great generation of Romanian actors.

Much better than... Alan Alda, for instance, Marin Moraru had a great theater career in Romania but also some film appearances that should place him among the classics of comedy. He should be up there with Chaplin and Buster Keaton. "Operatiunea Monstrul", sadly flawed by poor light, sound, and probably cheap pellicle, is nevertheless a showcase for Marin Moraru, Octavian Cotescu and Toma Caragiu, all "monsters" of Romanian comedy. I only wish someone would translate it in English and circulate it a little. At least the acting classes would greatly benefit from the exposure.

I'd rate it 8 out of 10, if only for patriotism.

my favorite Romanian movie... this and Filantropica rules the comedy.... Toma Caragiu is the most absurd character, but is seducing, is charming... He has the control, but he has nothing.. life is sometimes so simple... You get the big fish if u have luck... that is the lesson... Sometimes we don't have it. I recommend this movie to all the people who said that Romanian comedy is not one in the top of the comedies... Please watch this movie.. You will laugh... And you will laugh... For all the Romanians in the world, smile, we will rule the world someday, but then we will be dead... I said it... Look, this is a stupidity, but in this movie everybody believes the stupidity... They are so naive so ambitious to believe the ideals that they don't respect... But all you can't is good for other...

So from my point of view, as a romanian, is that the Operation "The Monster" is a parody of the Romanian communist period. At the beginning are establishing a set of rules, stupid rules like in the communist period. After they are breaking those one by one and everyone is fearing not be seen by another one, like in the communism when you were afraid to say anything even to a friend or a neighbor because you aren't sure that is not working with the security! So, it's a genial parody wich was released IN the communist period when everything against the system was out for the public! 😂😂😂

I've seen this movie many times now, and I must tell you it is the best comedy movie ever made in Romania. Everything about it, is extraordinary. First of all is the acting; cast with THE GREAT Toma Caragiu; The are the jokes, intelligent and very funny; And I must say for a romanian movie this old it looks and sound great. See it!