A description of Romania before Ceausescu's downfall, through the story of Nela. Daughter of a former colonel of the Securitate, the romanian political police. She refused to become like her sister, an agent of this Securitate, and lives with her father. After he died, she leaves Bucharest, and ends up in a little town, where she meets Mitica, a surgeon, another herself, laughing at everything.
Acting
Morgenstern and Vasilescu's deadpan chemistry is devastating.
Direction
Pintilie's banned-filmmaker rage simmers beneath every frame.
Cinematography
Grey Romanian landscapes that suffocate beautifully.
Director
Lucian Pintilie
Maia Morgenstern
Nela
Răzvan Vasilescu
Mitica
Victor Rebengiuc
Village mayor
Dorel Vișan
Country Priest
Mariana Mihuț
Priest's wife
Dan Condurache
Prosecutor
Magda Catone
Mitica's assistant
Gheorghe Visu
Priest in the train
Virgil Andriescu
Truica
Matei Alexandru
Butusina
Leopoldina Bălănuță
Nela's mother
Ionel Mihăilescu
Titi
Marcel Iureș
Dorina Lazăr
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Pintilie was exiled by Ceaușescu's regime; this was his first film back, shot literally as the dictator fell. The chaos on screen mirrors the chaos of production.
The 'oak' refers to Ceaușescu's insane urban demolition projects — Nela's tree is one he missed. The film's very existence is an act of cultural reclamation.
RO
