FILM OF THE WEEK
INTERVIEW | Romanian Online Film Week: Two films to watch (I) |
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| Written by Alex Leo Serban | |
| Monday, 25 June 2007 | |
 A scene from Radu Muntean's 'Hîrtia va fi albastrã' (The Paper Will Be Blue). Photo (c): Transilvania Film, All rights reserved. Since a new generation of thirty-somethings started making films in Romania a couple of years ago, film lovers from across the world have started paying more attention to the fresh EU member's cinematic output. In order to navigate the recent mass of noteworthy -- but to a foreign ear often unpronounceable -- titles, european-films.net asked several experts in the field which recent Romanian film they would recommend, and which upcoming Romanian project they are most looking forward to. First up: Romanian film critic, writer and visual artist Alex Leo Serban. Serban co-authored (with Mihai Chirilov) a book on Lars von Trier and published two more books: Robinson's Dietetics (nominated for the Writers' Union prize, 2006) and Why Do We Watch Films? (Filmmakers' Union prize for best book, 2006). He is based in Bucharest and considers himself a minimalist hedonist, though he "doesn't want everyone to share his life philosophy". We asked him which recent Romanian film he recommends and which upcoming Romanian film he is most looking forward to. Hîrtia va fi albastrã (The Paper Will Be Blue) Bucharest, the night of 22/23 December 1989. Ceausescu has fled, but the reports of his whereabouts are contradictory. The city is in complete chaos. TV is ruling the country. An 18 year-old who is doing his military service deserts from his patroling squad and heads for the TV station. On his way there he is calling his mother from a local phone. Everything’s all right, mum. But everything is not alright. In fact -- as the opening of the film showed in a chilling general shot -- the young recruit calling his mum is already dead. The whole film is told in flashback. What we see are ghosts. The second feature of 30-something director Radu Muntean Hîrtia va fi albastrã (The Paper Will Be Blue; the title refers to a military password) is truth-perfect. Co-written by Razvan Radulescu, Alex Baciu and Muntean himself by gathering their personal experiences, it is definitely short on entertainment value (could one really make an "entertaining" film about the Romanian Revolution!?) but greatly delivers as a tough, gut-wrenching, haunting ensemble piece (the acting is superb throughout) about the confusion surrounding that historic event. Shot only by night, one can only say that cinematographer Tudor Lucaciu’s photography has won the bet with the dark. 30 si ceva (30 Something) I can hardly wait to see Radu Muntean’s third feature – aptly called 30 si ceva (30 Something) – after becoming a staunch admirer of his second, the sadly underrated Hîrtia va fi albastrã (The Paper Will Be Blue)! That film really marked a clear break from the entertaining vein of his 2003 debut Furia (Fury). Furia was a fast paced, punch-in-the-gut, in your face thriller/road movie/social drama which delivered mainly as the first cinematic descent into the gypsy mob scene. Muntean’s experience as a director of commercials was apparent in the flowing and deft handling of material, but also a superficiality (stemming from the formulaic use of same material) which turned this “sound and fury” manifesto into little more than a genre film.The (gritty, blood-chilling) ending of Furia seemed to infuse the whole tone of his second feature – which begins with the end and with a shooting… What will 30 si ceva be like? Coming from the same experienced trio of screenwriters (Radulescu, Baciu and Muntean or RBM), my guess is: beware, Puiu & Mungiu! I think it’s going to be a fast delivery – and a good one. One can rely on RBM to come up with strong stuff: well-crafted scripts, street-natural dialogues, great acting and an intelligent, hopefully touching and far-reaching story! I place my bet on RBM’s brand of no-nonsense realism. |
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