Contemporary Romanian cinema: the history of an unexpected miracle

281 Pages·2014·3.986 MB·English

by  Nasta, Dominique

contemporary romanian cinema c
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The History of an Unexpected Miracle n
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Over the last decade, audiences have become increasingly familiar with
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Romanian New Wave films, such as The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005), 12:08 East
of Bucharest (2006) and 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007). This book is the first p
in-depth analysis of many essential productions ranging from the silent period o
to the present day. In addition to the many historical and cultural factors r contemporary
influencing contemporary Romanian cinema, this volume illuminates the a
careers of earlier filmmakers who tackled various genres despite Communist r
censorship. In particular, this study includes a focus on Lucian Pintilie, y
romanian cinema
whose Reconstruction (1969) strongly inspired Romania’s cinematic output over
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the subsequent forty years, and the book’s second half closely examines the
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‘minimalist’ trend of prominent filmmakers such as Cristian Mungiu, Cristi m
Puiu, Corneliu Porumboiu, and Radu Muntean, as well as younger directors
also dealing with the complexities of contemporary Romania. a The History of an Unexpected Miracle
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DOMINIQUE NASTA is Professor of Film Studies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She i
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is the author of Meaning in Film: Relevant Structures in Soundtrack and Narrative
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(1991) and co-author of New Perspectives in Sound Studies (2004).

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‘Informative, detailed, and written with clearly evident passion, this volume provides an i
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engaging account of contemporary Romanian cinema and its dramatic transformation
from being one of the least well-known film cultures in Europe to an almost phoenix- e
like renaissance after the fall of Communism. By exploring not only nationally specific m
contexts, but also issues such as co-productions, exile, diaspora, and other forms of global
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circulation, Nasta demonstrates that far from being a peripheral phenomenon, Romanian
cinema has a central place within discussions of world cinema.’
– Tim Bergfelder, University of Southampton
‘Providing historical context and bringing to light hidden gems, this compelling and
extremely well-documented book draws connections between Romanian cinema’s past
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and present, answering the most difficult question: how was the miracle of the New O
Wave possible? Nasta’s analysis is simply the best work written so far on this subject. The M
Romanian cinema, old and new, rightfully deserves this considered treatment.’ I
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– Mihai Chirilov, Artistic Director, Transylvania International Film Festival I
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‘Every national cinema should envy Romania for having someone like Dominique Nasta U
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to chronicle its history. This book, like Romanian cinema itself, provides unexpected

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discoveries decade to decade, while leading us authoritatively and dramatically to the
A D O M I N I Q U E N A S T A
recent masterpieces that have put Romania firmly on the cinephile’s map. This will be the
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definitive book on this important cinema.’ – Dudley Andrew, Yale University T
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ISBN 978-0-231-16745-1
WALLFLOWER PRESS
cover photos: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) © IFC Films, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
(2005) © Tartan Films, Niki and Flo (2003) © Filmex, How I Spent the End of the World
(2006) © Strada Films. 9 780231 167451
Cont Romanian Cine-cover_rev.indd 1 09/09/2013 13:37
D O M I N I Q U E N A S T A
contemporary
romanian cinema
The History of an Unexpected Miracle
WALLFLOWER PRESS
LONDON & NEW YORK
Contemp_Rom_Cinema_pages.indb 1 10/9/13 22:51:39
A Wallflower Press Book
Published by
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York • Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © Dominique Nasta 2013
All rights reserved.
Wallflower Press® is a registered trademark of Columbia University Press
A complete CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-231-16744-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-231-16745-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-231-53669-1 (e-book)
Cover image courtesy of:
Filmex (Niki and Flo), Mobra Films (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days), Mandragora
(The Death of Mr. Lazarescu) and Strada Films (How I Spent the End of the World).
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contemp_Rom_Cinema_pages.indb 2 10/9/13 22:51:39
contents
acknowledgements vii
preface xi
Introduction 1
1 Difficult Beginnings 3
2 Bright Intervals: Romania’s Short-lived Thaw 17
3 Romanian Cinema in the 1970s: Versatility on the Menu 27
4 Dan Piţa: A Filmmaker for All Seasons 47
5 Mircea Daneliuc: Romanian Cinema’s Rebel with a Cause 57
6 The 1989 Moment: Film and History in the Early 1990s 73
7 Through a Glass, Darkly: Lucian Pintilie as Past and Present Role Model 85
8 The Films of Nae Caranfil: A Taste of Turn-of-the-Century Sophisticated
Comedy 121
9 Short Films on the Crest of the New Wave 139
10 Less is More: Puiu, Porumboiu, Muntean and the Impact of Romanian Film
Minimalism 155
11 The 4, 3, 2 Paradigm: Cristian Mungiu‘s Large-scale Phenomenon 181
12 Making Films for Wider Audiences: Romanian Cinema Turns Global 201
13 Romanian Exilic and Diasporic Cinema: The Case of Radu Gabrea 221
Conclusion 231
notes 237
filmography 251
bibliography 258
index 265
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Contemp_Rom_Cinema_pages.indb 4 10/9/13 22:51:40
Dedicated to my husband and my sons
In memory of Alex Leo Șerban (1959–2011)
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Acknowledgements
The main acknowledgement goes to Romanian film historian, archivist and
critic Bujor Rîpeanu. My debt to him is immense: without his invaluable writ-
ten contributions, constant advice on bibliographic sources, film copies made
available while he was head of the Romanian Film Archive, numerous discus-
sions and insightful commentaries on versions of the manuscript, this book
would not exist. My wish is that translated versions of his outstanding contri-
butions to Romanian historiography reach the widest international audience
as soon as possible. My deepest thanks also go to film critic, Romanian Film
Archive editor and Balkan film authority Marian Tuțui, for having contrib-
uted essentially to my research by providing more than a hundred copies of
Romanian films, from the early years to the present. I would also like to thank
him for sharing his knowledge on films I was not familiar with: most chapters
of this book could not have been completed without the films Marian helped
me uncover or rediscover. I also wish to thank Yoram Allon at Wallflower Press,
whose enthusiasm, confidence, patience and unrelenting editorial support for
this project helped me bring the book to completion; he was always avail-
able to answer my questions and to extend deadlines, allowing me to update
material in accordance with the constant metamorphoses of contemporary
Romanian cinema.
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The academic and administrative staff at the Université Libre de Bruxelles
Faculty of Philosophy and Letters and its Film Studies department enabled me
to combine teaching with research time in the best possible ways. I therefore
wish to thank successive Faculty Deans Jean-Pierre Devroey, Didier Viviers
and Manuel Couvreur for their unflinching support. I also wish to thank my
long-time collaborator and colleague Muriel Andrin for carefully re-reading
the manuscript and for helping with many academic issues, relieving me from
administrative burdens, allowing me to spend the necessary time on the man-
uscript, and enduring my doubts and hesitations with intelligence and good
humour. Anne Gailly, Myriam Billon, Aurélie Lachapelle, Marta De Oliveira,
Frédéric Dhantschotter and Marc Jamgotchian helpfully provided assistance
and technical support all the way through. This book has also gained from
stimulating discussions with students over many years. Special thanks go to
three Romanian M.A. students studying in Brussels: Lucian Marinescu, Vlad
Nedelcu and Alexandra Grigorianu. Lucian helped substantially with various
re-readings of the manuscript, and Vlad’s contribution to the iconography
proved essential.
I am particularly indebted to the Belgian Film Archive, to its former outstand-
ing curator Gabrielle Claes and to her entire experienced staff: they generously
gave me unlimited access to all existing material in relation to Romanian films
and filmmakers and enabled me to organise the first retrospective entirely
dedicated to Romanian cinema, in September 2007. Many academics helped
me shape this book and encouraged me to pursue my goal. I sincerely thank
Irène Bessière, Daniela Berghahn, Gian Piero Brunetta, Nevena Dakovic, Marc
Dominicy, Thomas Elsaesser, Dina Iordanova, Daniel Lindvall, Bruno Mazzoni,
Giovanni Spagnoletti, Christina Stojanova, Marc Vernet and Christian Viviani,
for giving me the opportunity to present lectures, teach courses and seminars,
attend international conferences, and publish chapters from encyclopaedias,
essays and dictionary entries on Romanian films and directors. Distinguished
film theorist and friend David Bordwell offered insightful comments on earlier
versions and persuaded me to cover the widest range of films from a cin-
ematic sphere seldom approached before. Film director and colleague Luc
Dardenne always manifested a lot of interest in Romania’s emerging New
Wave and constantly encouraged me to pursue and finalise my work.
The Romanian film community at large has helped me substantially, pro-
viding material, answering my emails and spending a lot of time on the
telephone. My debt to my long-time friend the late Alex Leo Șerban cannot
be measured: his untimely death is still something I cannot come to terms
with. If Romanian cinema had a distinctive, encyclopaedic and highly ironic
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critical voice that was heard worldwide, this was Leo’s: almost every chapter
in this book is here to prove it. Critic Cristina Corciovescu invited me to the
first ‘Romania on the Movie Map 2008’ Bucharest conference and enabled me
to watch a lot of features and meet and interview most New Wave directors. I
thank her for contributing to the manuscript with interesting information and
ideas. My thanks go equally to Romanian directors Nae Caranfil, Radu Gabrea,
Lucian Pintilie and Corneliu Porumboiu for answering my questions. I am very
grateful to Mircea Daneliuc’s experienced film editor Maria Neagu, for our
long telephone conversations. Screenwriter and director Răzvan Rădulescu
provided invaluable information about issues related to the Romanian New
Wave. So did editor Cătălin Cristuțiu on the work of the late Cristian Nemescu,
and cinematographer Oleg Mutu on his experiences with Cristian Mungiu.
Several relatives and friends require special thanks for helping in various
ways: Marina Baconsky, Nel Bădescu, Florin Drașcaba, Dana Duma, Ruxandra
and Wolfgang Enzensberger, Ileana Ghițulescu, Oana Lungescu, Philip Mosley,
Adrian Niculescu, Natalia Noussinova, Mara Pigeon, Sanda Ripeanu, Achille
Tramarin, Marietta Ujică and Ion Vianu. Last but not least, I want to thank my
mother, Marguerite, and my father and intellectual guide, Professor Mihaïl
Nasta, for their love, sustained help and support in all circumstances. I am also
grateful to my brother Marius, who provided some useful assistance. Above
all, my husband Alec Cunescu’s invaluable love, intellectual involvement and
practical assistance were pivotal at all stages of the preparation of the manu-
script. He and our wonderful sons Stéphane and Pierre endured it all for more
than four years, watching the same Romanian films over and over again, while
also laughing whole-heartedly at Romanian jokes and at previously censored
scenes and dialogue. I can only respond to them with my endless love.
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