Romanian film

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The CAPITOL cinema in Bucharest - one of the first film theaters in the country

Under Romanian film is understood in Romania or by Romanian filmmakers abroad films produced. Before 1989 they were often heroic and full of naivety, but tried to catch up with international developments in the 1960s, today they impress with their psychological realism and subtle social criticism. Despite difficult times with tight budgets, in which only a few projects could hope for state support, Romanian cinema has gained international attention, especially with The Death of Mr Lazarescu ( Moartea domnului Lăzărescu ) by Cristi Puiu , 2005 winner of the Prix ​​Un Certain Regard of the Cannes Film Festival and 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days ( 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile ) by Cristian Mungiu , who was awarded the Palme d'Or and the European Film Prize in Cannes in 2007 . Cătălin Mitulescu's short film Trafic received the Palme d'Or for short films in Cannes in 2004 , his film Loverboy was shown in 2011 in Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section.

history

The beginnings

"The War of Independence" / Independența României (1912)
Folkloric scenes were popular with the audience - from Independența României (1912)
Scene from the film “Tanase's Dream” / Visiul lui Tanase

The history of Romanian film began on May 27, 1896 with a performance by the Lumière brothers in Bucharest . The new medium was received with great enthusiasm by all strata of the Romanian population and as early as 1897 the first own films were produced and shown - it was a documentary film about a flood in the provincial town of Gala undi and a fleet parade in front of the port of Constanța . The traditionally close ties to France in the Belle Epoque were also reflected in the numerous documentaries introduced in the country; every major city had at least one movie theater as early as the 1920s and the booths and tented cinemas built at fairs and festivals also reached the last Angle of land. Most of the French films were distributed in the distribution system.

As early as 1911, the first Romanian film Fatale Liebe by director Grigore Brezeanu (1892–1919) premiered. This short film was followed in 1912 by another film directed by Brezeanu and appealing to patriotic sentiments, The War of Independence with heroic episodes from the Russo-Ottoman War (1877–1878) . This is similar to the first American monumental film The Birth of a Nation , which was produced in 1915 . By the end of the First World War , eight feature films had already been completed. However, the means were lacking for the establishment of an independent Romanian film industry and the state authorities met the early Romanian directors Lupu Pick (1886–1931) and Jean Negulescu (1900–1993) with only skepticism, so these talents emigrated to France or Germany . Many of the early films have not survived; only press articles and photos are reminiscent of them. Since 1965 the Arhiva Națională de Films (ANF) ( National Film Archive ) has been trying to research the historical beginnings of Romanian cinema. At the same time, film buffs and film critics such as Ion I. Cantacuzino (1908–1975) and Tudor Caranfil (born 1931) and the directors Jean Mihail (1896–1963) and Jean Georgescu (1904–1993) published their memories and the results of private collectors' and research activities .

1920-1945

In the 1920s, the first film production companies based on the American and Western European models emerged, whose commercial interests quickly concentrated on the popular genre of film comedy . Jean Georgescu (1904–1993) emerged as the most important director with the films Millionaire for a Day (1925) and A Stormy Night (1942). Other commercially successful films of this era were Manasse (1925), Not (1929), Major Mura (1928), Die Heiducken (1929) Ruf der Liebe (1932) and An Unforgettable Night (1939). A total of around 50 Romanian feature films were made by 1939. The documentary by Puiu Călinescu (1920–1997) People of the Western Carpathians is considered the first Romanian film to be awarded a prize at an international film festival - it received an award at the 1938 Venice Biennale .

1945-1989

After the Second World War, the Romanian film companies were nationalized and used for propaganda purposes. The film studio built in the town of Buftea near Bucharest was very successful and in the 1960s was considered to be one of the most modern studios in Europe. Well-known historical and monumental films were made there, such as the films made by Sergiu Nicolaescu (1930–2013) The Dacian Gold (1966) and the sequel The Last Great Victory of the Dacians (1967).

During this golden age of Romanian film, Liviu Ciulei (1923–2011) was also a sought-after director. Between 1957 and 1964 he directed three commercially very successful films: the drama Eruption (1957) deals with a natural disaster in the Romanian oil region, The Danube burns (1959) describes the fight against the Germans by a Romanian who switched to the side of the Allies in World War II, but especially his conscience drama The Forest of the Hanged (1964) from the time of the First World War received worldwide attention and was awarded the director's prize at the Cannes Film Festival . The Mamaia Film Festival was founded as an international competition in 1964 .

After 1968 a number of realistic milieu studies were carried out, but the youth drama The Reconstruction by Lucian Pintilie disappeared from the cinemas after a few weeks because of the critical portrayal of state power; after the revolution it became a cult film. In addition to Pintilie, other directors such as Radu Gabrea also went into exile in the 1970s .

The Romanian monumental film program also included the films Tudor - Rebel Against Pashas and Boyars (1963), Michael the Brave (1971) and The Immortals (1974). A number of films such as the one with apocalyptic scenes and z. Fairy tale film The White Mohr (1965, based on Ion Creanga), adorned with surreal décor and pop-like costumes, was adapted to the film tastes of the Central and Western European audience. In the late 1960s, public tastes switched to action films - in the style of James Bond , western films and crime films ( Die Axt , 1969). The cooperation with DEFA can be rated as successful , a whole series of demanding "Indian films " was the reaction to the Karl May films. The scenic locations were often to be found in the Romanian Carpathians.

Internationally little known actors - here Margareta Pogonat (1933–2014) - dominated the film of the 1970s.

The production of Romanian television series has concentrated on crime films, the most successful of which is Der Kommissar . Since the 1970s, the nationalist genre of (anti) war films has also been used for domestic political reasons : The fight against the German occupation forces in World War II was preferred as a topic: Die last Patrone (1973), One Alone (1974) and One Commissioner Indicts (1974). These strongly nationalist films were commercially unsuccessful even in neighboring socialist countries. The films also increased tensions with the Hungarian, Croatian and German minorities in the country.

present

With the Romanian Revolution in 1989 , the issues and production conditions changed radically. Initially, they oriented themselves towards western genres and maintained a hard-realistic style, as in Cristi Puius' road movie Ware and Money (2001) about three young mafia couriers. Lucian Pintilie returned from exile and continued his work.

Modern Romanian films are characterized by a cool, realistic to naturalistic style with long shots (so-called Romanian Nouvelle Vague , “New Wave”). Psychological precision is combined with criticism of machismo and corruption (as in Puius The Death of Mr Lazarescu from 2005, which shows the wandering of a seriously ill man from hospital to hospital), of the blind faith of the old communists and the Orthodox priests. The eye for absurd situations goes hand in hand with a pronounced black humor and an awareness of complex ethical problems.

Other well-known directors of the Romanian New Wave are Radu Muntean , Cristian Nemescu , Corneliu Porumboiu ( The Treasure ) and Călin Peter Netzer , whose film Mother & Son received the Golden Bear in 2013 .

Cristian Mungiu and Cosmina Stratan in Cannes (2012)

The actress Cosmina Stratan , best known for her leading role in Cristian Mungius' film După dealuri ( Beyond the Hills , 2012), was honored for her first role in a feature film in the Shooting Stars section of the 2014 Berlinale . The film is based on an actual incident, the death of a woman in an exorcism in Vaslui in 2005 (the so-called Tanacu case ). Together with the second actress Cristina Flutur , Stratan was awarded the Actor Prize in Cannes 2012.

Romanian film is currently still struggling with financing and distribution problems: in many areas there are few or no cinemas. Across the country there were around 600 by 1989 and around 70 today. Illegal DVD copies are widespread. Alexandru Belc documented the slow death of the cinema in Cinema Mon Amour .

Romanian filmmakers can currently only produce cost-effectively if they can organize financial support from abroad. The cooperation with international documentary film producers is successful. A large number of game scenes for the very successful Terra X series and similar productions were created in Romanian film studios. Increasingly, feature films are also being made in cooperation with German, French and other producers.

Important directors

Jean Negulesco (1900-1993)

Important films (selection)

  • 1964: The forest of the hanged ( Pădurea spânzuraților )
  • 1965: The uprising ( Răscoala )
  • 1968: The Reconstruction ( Reconstituirea )
  • 1969: The Ax ( Baltagul )
  • 1970: Battle of the Kings ( Mihai Viteazul )
  • 1974: Battle of the Turks in the Fog / Stefan the Great ( Ștefan cel Mare )
  • 1992: Tree of Hope ( Balanța )
  • 1998: Terminus paradis
  • 2001: Goods and Money ( Marfa și banii )
  • 2002: Filantropica
  • 2005: The death of Mr. Lazarescu ( Moartea domnului Lăzărescu )
  • 2006: How I experienced the end of the world ( Cum mi-am petrecut sfârșitul lumii )
  • 2007: 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days ( 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile )
  • 2012: Beyond the Hills

literature

  • Pocket dictionary Romania. Bibliographical Institute. Leipzig 1985. pp. 84-86

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Hugenbeck, Wenke Husmann: Nou ... nou ... nou ... , in: Die Zeit , May 20, 2016.
  2. ↑ Table of contents on moviepilot.de
  3. ↑ In the DEFA synchronization mostly the Romanian original titles were used - here Stefan the Great