Aferim! (2015) review

Constable Costandin (Teodor Corban) is ordered by boyar Iordache (Alexandru Dabija) to hunt down and apprehend a Gypsy thief named Carfin (Toma Cuzin), so Costandin takes his son Ionita (Mihai Comanoiu) and the two of them wander around the Wallachia region to gather information as to his whereabouts, meet a ton of oddballs and eventually nab their mark ... but slowly become empathetic towards him.  As with other films by Jude, there's plenty of choice dialogue ("Fear is shameful, but healthy.  It's God's gift."), the whole Pop & Kid dynamic is endearing and I appreciate the nod to the American Western, but he still doesn't know how to build tension (or perhaps he doesn't care) so scenes kind of run on, and I'm not positive what the point is he's trying to make: that life in the 19th century was barbaric?  That slavery and public castration are both horrifying?  Here's one thing I'd like to bring back (as per the mad priest on the side of the road): Giant Jews.  That would certainly terrify certain individuals....