„War Dogs” and the Truth About Romania

To my shame, even though War Dogs has been out since 2016, I only just got around to watching it recently. It’s a film inspired by real events that genuinely deserves moviegoers’ attention. It’s also the movie that changed my opinion of Jonah Hill. Before War Dogs, I always thought of him as a pretty average actor. Not Oscar-worthy, but definitely not Razzie-level either.

Jonah Hill has grown a lot in recent years. If I wanted to be a bit cheeky, I’d say it’s not surprising—he had plenty of room to improve and not much space to regress. He gave a great performance in this film, though at times it was clear he struggled to break out of the roles he’s typically known for. Still, he’s grown, and that’s what truly matters.

The plot feels like something out of a movie—except it’s not. That just goes to show that real life can outshine fiction in some wild ways. David Packouz, a broke guy with dreams of being a big-time businessman, is struggling. He’s made his first investment, but the money isn’t rolling in, so he has to make ends meet as a massage therapist. The real tips, however, come from “special” massages, and he feels humiliated by it—and honestly, he’s got every right to feel that way. Then, enter Efraim Diveroli, played by Jonah Hill. Efraim’s that friend your parents always warned you to stay away from. But David’s desperate enough to accept help from anywhere. And I mean anywhere.

Efraim finds a loophole in the U.S. Army’s procurement system and starts exploiting it to the max. What begins with crumbs turns into a massive slice of the pie… until greed and stupidity mix and bring it all crashing down. I won’t spoil any more details. The film is fantastic and definitely worth watching all the way through, with no idea of what’s coming next.

However, there were a few moments that made me raise an eyebrow. Wait, what?

At one point, their arms-dealing business takes them to Albania. The depiction of Albania looked oddly familiar to me, even though I’ve never been there. It looked a bit too much like Romania. At the time, I had no idea where War Dogs was filmed, but I decided to look it up afterward. Turns out, I didn’t have to dig that far. There’s a moment when Bashkim, the driver’s wife, tells David that Bashkim has disappeared and she has no idea where he is. Bashkim’s wife—who is supposed to be Albanian—speaks to David… in Romanian.

Yeah, you heard that right. Romanian. Believe it or not, it’s true.

Even though it was obvious that “Albania” was really Romania, I still did some research after the movie. Yep, the Albania scenes were filmed in Romania. And somehow, it’s hard to understand why a film with a $50 million budget would have such an oversight. I know, it’s common for one country to stand in for another on film, but having an “Albanian” speak Romanian? That’s a tough one to miss.

The producer had a decent budget. Fifty million dollars. So why did they cheap out and film in Romania instead of Albania? Especially considering that Albania is actually cheaper than Romania, and the story itself is set in Albania. A friend of mine, who travels to Albania often and has practically fallen in love with the place, gave me the answer. He believes Albania has become too modern to fit the setting. Albania has developed beautifully in recent years and is now a top tourist destination. The country is bouncing back fast, while Romania, on the other hand, remains stuck in its communist past. A past that too many people still look back on with nostalgia, hoping for Ceaușescu’s return because “things were better back then.”

Sad but true. If someone wants to shoot a film set in post-communist or even communist Albania, Romania is the go-to for authenticity. To Hollywood, we’re even more “communist” than the Albanians these days—and honestly, that’s not too far from the truth.

The film is definitely worth watching, especially for those so-called “patriots” who claim that Romania is “the most beautiful, the richest country” and are blind both to what’s happening around the world and what’s not happening in Romania—namely, its stubborn clinging to communism.