12:08 East of Bucharest: The re-emergence of Romanian Cinema
There’s been a healthy and encouraging trend of national cinemas taking people by surprise and doing well, creating a wave of directors and films which results in a short domino effect in output. In recent years, it’s happened in Denmark, Mexico, Iran and Hungary, to name a few, and now the current wave seems to be coming from Romania. The truth in Romania’s case is that the collapse of communism helped to change the situation in its national cinema. Thereafter, financing often depended on a jury awarding state grants, but it was discovered that they were awarded within a clique of earlier members of the jury, making it harder for many new filmmakers to get financing if they were not part of their group.
The unlikely international success of filmmakers at the turn of the new millennium, disliked by the old juries, saw a new emergence in Romanian cinema. In 2001 and 2002, Romanian directors competed in the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival. Cristi Puiu's low budget first feature film Stuff and Dough (Marfa si Banii) was presented in 2001 and the following year, Occident, a comedy drama directed by a then-unknown Cristian Mungiu - concerning young people who move to the west rather than struggle in Romania - was also presented in the same section at Cannes. Also in 2002, Nae Caranfil’s Philanthropy (Filantropica) was another popular comedy combined with a social satire that found festivals receptive and was to win awards. Sinisa Dragin’s Every Day God Kisses Us on the Mouth was a winner at the prestigious Cairo and Rotterdam film festivals in 2001 and 2002 respectively, also winning for best actor (Dan Condurache) at the 2002 edition of the Bratislava film festival in 2002, with a further special mention from the ecumenical jury.
This new found confidence coming out of Romania as a producer of directors who could find a critical acceptance worldwide seemed to gather pace in 2005 when Cristi Puiu followed his debut success Stuff and Dough with The Death of Mr. Lazerescu. This award-winning film depicts a belligerent 62-year-old drunk who reluctantly spends a night in hospital after yet another drinking bout. Here he suffers from the circumstances that will bring about his ultimate fate as an untimely coach accident with many casualties causes an emergency and stretches resources so that he is shuffled from one hospital to another. The Death of Mr. Lazerescu shows a more confident director able to tackle characterization and make a satirical comment on the state of the national health. Drawing allusions from Lindsay Anderson’s Britannia Hospital (1982) to Frederick Wiseman’s Hospital (1970) peopled by Rohmer characters, this film still has a contemporary relevance which will make people from any nation knowingly shiver with concern about the state of their health care.
Corneliu Porumboiu’s debut feature 12:08 East of Bucharest (A fost sau n-a fost) has brought Romanian cinema into the spotlight yet again. It’s December 22nd 2005 and it has been 16 years since the revolution that saw the overthrow of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. With Christmas approaching Pisocci, an old retiree and occasional Santa Claus, is preparing to spend yet another yuletide on his own. Manescu, an alcoholic history teacher, doesn’t want to lose his entire salary to pay off his drinking debts so he can enjoy himself a little. Jderescu, the owner of the local TV station, for some reason doesn’t seem very interested in vacation.
The full English title refers to the setting of the film (the city of Vaslui) and the time of day at which Ceauşescu fled in 1989. The Romanian title roughly translates as Was There or Wasn't There? in reference to the film’s ultimate question: Did Vaslui have any part at all in the 1989 revolution? Jderescu wants to know if there was a protest in the town prior to 12:08 pm on December 22, 1989 and with Piscoci and Manescu’s recollections, he wants an answer this sixteen-year-old conundrum. Together they agree that they stormed their town hall calling for Ceausescu’s head. However, phone-in viewers dispute the claims of the so-called heroes. Some remember them either drinking in the bar or getting ready for Christmas rather than in the streets joining the revolution.
Romania has not been known in the past for comedy but the fall of communism has shown a new optimism. 12:08 East of Bucharest makes light of what are serious subject matters, particularly the severe but celebratory moment in its history. The three main actors’ play their part very consistently for their abundant screen time and an undercurrent of dry humour always lingers which dispels any tension. This makes 12:08 East of Bucharest much funnier than The Death of Mr Lazarescu, which sold itself on being part comedy (see Romanian poster below) when in truth it had a couple of funny lines and hedonistic laughs at best. Also (in 12:08), each of the three central characters has deeply personal issues which draw allusions to the former Romania and Eastern Bloc - secret pasts, financial problems, daily upheavals and exposed irregularities. The new generation of students in the history class are so ignorant they even fail the Ottoman Empire exam and the more recent events, that made Romania the spotlight of the world's media, seem irrelevant to them. This new generation don't appear to acknowledge the freedom their forefathers helped to bring about.
For the most part though, 12:08 East of Bucharest is trying to show that the revolution didn't bring a happy ending as all the post-communist Romanian films are attempting to do now. The last third of Porumboiu’s film is perhaps too long because it’s completely set within the TV studio and uses a mainly static camera. This is due perhaps to a slight flaw in script and/or direction which budget issues could easily explain. Despite this, the deadpan and slightly bemused direction transcends any shortcomings or potentially calculated attempts at forcing its humour onto the audience. The revolution was televised but not in this small town east of Bucharest and the inhabitants have differing recollections on just how revolutionary they were. The notion that the human brain can invent memories to suit its own agenda could be used as an excuse for those who were not forthcoming about vivid recollections when asked "Where were you when.....?"
Meanwhile, the likes of Puiu, Porumboiu and Cristian Mungiu's forthcoming film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days have seen Romania not just come from behind the rest of world cinema but can currently claim to almost have its nose in front. It would appear that Romania is also becoming the favourite cinema of Cannes. Two years ago it surprised with The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (the first of a planned sextet of films, Six Stories from the Bucharest Suburbs), awarded to Cristi Puiu in A Certain Regard; and last year the same award went to 12:08 East of Bucharest. This year 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days won the Cinema Prize of the French National Education System, the FIPRESCI certificate and, most importantly, the Palme d'Or. Mungiu's film is scheduled for release in the UK in January 2008.
There’s been a healthy and encouraging trend of national cinemas taking people by surprise and doing well, creating a wave of directors and films which results in a short domino effect in output. In recent years, it’s happened in Denmark, Mexico, Iran and Hungary, to name a few, and now the current wave seems to be coming from Romania. The truth in Romania’s case is that the collapse of communism helped to change the situation in its national cinema. Thereafter, financing often depended on a jury awarding state grants, but it was discovered that they were awarded within a clique of earlier members of the jury, making it harder for many new filmmakers to get financing if they were not part of their group.
The unlikely international success of filmmakers at the turn of the new millennium, disliked by the old juries, saw a new emergence in Romanian cinema. In 2001 and 2002, Romanian directors competed in the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival. Cristi Puiu's low budget first feature film Stuff and Dough (Marfa si Banii) was presented in 2001 and the following year, Occident, a comedy drama directed by a then-unknown Cristian Mungiu - concerning young people who move to the west rather than struggle in Romania - was also presented in the same section at Cannes. Also in 2002, Nae Caranfil’s Philanthropy (Filantropica) was another popular comedy combined with a social satire that found festivals receptive and was to win awards. Sinisa Dragin’s Every Day God Kisses Us on the Mouth was a winner at the prestigious Cairo and Rotterdam film festivals in 2001 and 2002 respectively, also winning for best actor (Dan Condurache) at the 2002 edition of the Bratislava film festival in 2002, with a further special mention from the ecumenical jury.
This new found confidence coming out of Romania as a producer of directors who could find a critical acceptance worldwide seemed to gather pace in 2005 when Cristi Puiu followed his debut success Stuff and Dough with The Death of Mr. Lazerescu. This award-winning film depicts a belligerent 62-year-old drunk who reluctantly spends a night in hospital after yet another drinking bout. Here he suffers from the circumstances that will bring about his ultimate fate as an untimely coach accident with many casualties causes an emergency and stretches resources so that he is shuffled from one hospital to another. The Death of Mr. Lazerescu shows a more confident director able to tackle characterization and make a satirical comment on the state of the national health. Drawing allusions from Lindsay Anderson’s Britannia Hospital (1982) to Frederick Wiseman’s Hospital (1970) peopled by Rohmer characters, this film still has a contemporary relevance which will make people from any nation knowingly shiver with concern about the state of their health care.
Corneliu Porumboiu’s debut feature 12:08 East of Bucharest (A fost sau n-a fost) has brought Romanian cinema into the spotlight yet again. It’s December 22nd 2005 and it has been 16 years since the revolution that saw the overthrow of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. With Christmas approaching Pisocci, an old retiree and occasional Santa Claus, is preparing to spend yet another yuletide on his own. Manescu, an alcoholic history teacher, doesn’t want to lose his entire salary to pay off his drinking debts so he can enjoy himself a little. Jderescu, the owner of the local TV station, for some reason doesn’t seem very interested in vacation.
The full English title refers to the setting of the film (the city of Vaslui) and the time of day at which Ceauşescu fled in 1989. The Romanian title roughly translates as Was There or Wasn't There? in reference to the film’s ultimate question: Did Vaslui have any part at all in the 1989 revolution? Jderescu wants to know if there was a protest in the town prior to 12:08 pm on December 22, 1989 and with Piscoci and Manescu’s recollections, he wants an answer this sixteen-year-old conundrum. Together they agree that they stormed their town hall calling for Ceausescu’s head. However, phone-in viewers dispute the claims of the so-called heroes. Some remember them either drinking in the bar or getting ready for Christmas rather than in the streets joining the revolution.
Romania has not been known in the past for comedy but the fall of communism has shown a new optimism. 12:08 East of Bucharest makes light of what are serious subject matters, particularly the severe but celebratory moment in its history. The three main actors’ play their part very consistently for their abundant screen time and an undercurrent of dry humour always lingers which dispels any tension. This makes 12:08 East of Bucharest much funnier than The Death of Mr Lazarescu, which sold itself on being part comedy (see Romanian poster below) when in truth it had a couple of funny lines and hedonistic laughs at best. Also (in 12:08), each of the three central characters has deeply personal issues which draw allusions to the former Romania and Eastern Bloc - secret pasts, financial problems, daily upheavals and exposed irregularities. The new generation of students in the history class are so ignorant they even fail the Ottoman Empire exam and the more recent events, that made Romania the spotlight of the world's media, seem irrelevant to them. This new generation don't appear to acknowledge the freedom their forefathers helped to bring about.
For the most part though, 12:08 East of Bucharest is trying to show that the revolution didn't bring a happy ending as all the post-communist Romanian films are attempting to do now. The last third of Porumboiu’s film is perhaps too long because it’s completely set within the TV studio and uses a mainly static camera. This is due perhaps to a slight flaw in script and/or direction which budget issues could easily explain. Despite this, the deadpan and slightly bemused direction transcends any shortcomings or potentially calculated attempts at forcing its humour onto the audience. The revolution was televised but not in this small town east of Bucharest and the inhabitants have differing recollections on just how revolutionary they were. The notion that the human brain can invent memories to suit its own agenda could be used as an excuse for those who were not forthcoming about vivid recollections when asked "Where were you when.....?"
Meanwhile, the likes of Puiu, Porumboiu and Cristian Mungiu's forthcoming film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days have seen Romania not just come from behind the rest of world cinema but can currently claim to almost have its nose in front. It would appear that Romania is also becoming the favourite cinema of Cannes. Two years ago it surprised with The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (the first of a planned sextet of films, Six Stories from the Bucharest Suburbs), awarded to Cristi Puiu in A Certain Regard; and last year the same award went to 12:08 East of Bucharest. This year 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days won the Cinema Prize of the French National Education System, the FIPRESCI certificate and, most importantly, the Palme d'Or. Mungiu's film is scheduled for release in the UK in January 2008.
posted by Steven Yates at 3:59 PM
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