Constantin Ghenescu
2021Occident
Cristian Mungiu
Alexandru Papadopol, Anca-Ioana Androne
"Occident" is a bitter comedy about the people who want to emigrate from Romania, and about those who stay behind. The movie has a rich, interesting structure: there are three different stories - a weeklong in the film - that cross, interconnect and happen in the same period. The characters influence each others lives, sometimes even without knowing. Main characters from one story become secondary characters in another story. At the same time, scenes from the first part of the movie bring unexpected facts when seen the second or the third time. The stories do not have just one ending: the first story ends in each of the third parts in a different point, suggesting radically different solutions for the characters. The way in which the director fits time and links events together often produces thematically unexpected results.
Occident
Niki and Flo
Lucian Pintilie
Victor Rebengiuc, Răzvan Vasilescu
In this very black comedy about ill-suited neighbors united by marriage, Niki is a former colonel in the Romanian army whose daughter is married to the son of Flo, an aging Bohemian who is full of schemes for the “new” Romania. As the young couple prepares to emigrate to the U.S., Niki is obliged to interact with Flo, whom he finds totally unbearable.
Niki and Flo
Weekend with My Mother
Stere Gulea
Adela Popescu, Medeea Marinescu
15 years ago, Luiza decided to make a fresh start in Spain. She left her 3-year-old daughter Cristina in the care of her relatives and took off. When she returns to Romania, the woman learns some shocking truths that were kept hidden from her: Cristina ran away from home, is a drug addict and has a 2-year-old girl who lives in an orphanage. Overwhelmed by guilt, Luiza attempts to save her daughter
Weekend with My Mother
The Other Irene
Andrei Gruzsniczki
Andi Vasluianu, Simona Popescu
Security guard Aurel (Andi Vasluianu) and his wife Irene have a moderately happy marriage and a moderately comfortable lifestyle in urban Romania. Irene takes a working trip to Cairo and returns invigorated with the swell of success. She sets out again and never returns. What follows is both predictable and unpredictable. Aurel, and the audience, are suspicious of the official explanation of her death so the foundation is laid for the traditional who-dunnit. Aurel proceeds on an emotional search against all odds.
The Other Irene
Ryna
Ruxandra Zenide
Dorotheea Petre, Valentin Popescu
In a small village in the Danube Delta, where traditions are confronted with new material purposes, a teenage girl is becoming a woman. This is the story of Ryna, a 16 year old girl, working as an motor mechanic in Sulina, who strives to find her identity next to a father who is firmly denying her femininity.
Ryna
Lovind o pasăre de pradă
Iosif Demian
George Negoescu, Dorel Vișan
The autopsy of a deceased girl finds that the victim had died long before the accident. Taking over the case, "Grandpa" and his assistant, Panaitescu, discover that the perpetrator of the false accident is being blackmailed.
To Kill a Bird of Prey
Entre chiens et loups
Alexandre Arcady
Richard Berry, Saïd Taghmaoui
An ex-con suffering from terminal cancer and a suicidal ex-legionnaire are hired to participate in a staged assassination attempt on a Romanian politician. As part of the plan, the two must themselves be murdered in order to make their target appear more powerful. But while their circumstances make them perfect fall guys, their lives are initially spared when the attack descends into chaos. Staying alive thereafter involves the two strangers working together to dodge both fellow conspirators and the police.
Break of Dawn
