LAFF SPOTLIGHTS ROMANIAN FILM
by debbie lynn elias
As I have noted of late, Eastern Europe is turning out some phenomenal films from phenomenal filmmakers, like Russian director Timur Bekmambetov the man responsible for European box office bonanzas “Nightwatch” and now “Daywatch”, and Hungarian music video/commercial director Attila Szasz who steps into the short film genre with the riveting psychological thriller, “Now You See Me Now You Don’t.”  
LA Film Festival now adds three more names to that growing list of international talent with its spotlight on Romania and the works of this year’s winner of the Plume d’Or at Cannes, Cristian Mungiu and his film 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, Radu Muntean who directed and co-wrote THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE and Cristian Nemescu, director of MARILENA FROM P7.  I have been fortunate to screen the works of Mungiu and Muntean and hope that you will enjoy them both as much I.
Romania. 1987.  Still within the Communist bloc, Romania is under the rule of Nicolae Ceaucescu.  A tyrant by any standard, Ceaucescu has made abortion a crime.   Gabita, a young college student, is overwhelmed when she learns she is pregnant.  Knowing that she is not in a position to have a child and also knowing the illegality and legal ramifications for those who have abortions, Gabita turns to her best friend Otilia for a shoulder to cry on, an arm to lean on, and to beg for help in making what may well be the most difficult decision of her life.
After 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days - the length o f time it has taken Gabita to decide what to do about her unplanned pregnancy - a decision has been made.  Gabita will risk everything to save her future.  She will have an abortion.  Naive as to the ways of the world and physically and emotionally fragile, Gabita asks Otilia to handle the arrangements.   A hotel room is required.  Money to pay for the procedure is needed as is money to grease a few palms and keep mouths silent.   A meeting with the mysterious Mr. Bebe must be also scheduled.
While Gabita nervously sits and waits, ready to jump out of her skin at any moment, Otilia takes the laboring on and quietly calls on friends and classmates, borrowing money and items to trade on the street for cash, as well as gathering supplies that Gabita will need during the “operation.”   With money in hand, Otilia heads to the hotel room to meet Gabita only to find there is no reservation and no room at the inn.  Forced to look elsewhere, a suitable room is finally located.
Again leaving Gabita alone, Otilia ventures out for the clandestine meeting with Mr. Bebe.  Unfortunately, Mr. Bebe is not what one would call a kind man.  He is rigid, cold and callous.  He is after all a criminal performing illegal abortions.  And like all criminals, they are not to be trusted.  Making new demands on Otilia as she has not complied with his explicit instructions to a tee, it takes some negotiation on Otilia’s part to get Bebe to stick to their agreement.  But another problem results when Bebe meets Gabita.    She is further along in her pregnancy than he was told.   Mandating new negotiations, the girls fear he wants more money, money that they don’t have.  But that’s not what Bebe wants.  He wants them.  Both of them.  Demanding sexual favors before he will proceed with the abortion, he forces the girls to submit to him.
Raped, debased and denigrated, the girls are in a fog over Bebe’s ugly, menacing, and vile acts.  But without skipping a beat, Bebe satisfies himself, and forces Gabita into position for the abortion.  As quickly as it began it is over.  After Bebe pokes and prods and injects some fluid into Gabita, he unceremoniously and unsolicitously tells the girls what to do when the fetus aborts and quickly leaves the room.  Alone in their unspeakable horror and grief, it feels like day has become night - or a nightmare, one that will never end.
But neither the day nor its dread have ended as when Otilia leaves Gabita alone to attend her mother’s birthday party, we see it is still daylight. And while Gabita suddenly finds some hidden bravura, Otilia loses hers as she is overcome with emotion of the days’ trauma, fighting back the tears and choking back screams of anguish and anger.  Fleeing the party she heads back to Gabita, the only person with whom she can share this unspeakable day.
BAFTA award winner Anamaria Marinca is stellar as Otilia.  Commanding every scene, she brings a multi-textural depth to the character and speaks volumes with her silence.  And given her performance here, you have to opine that the close-up shot was designed with Marinca in mind.  She has an effortless ease in her dialogue and mannerisms befitting an informed college student devoted to her best friend.  In only her second screen role, Laura Vasiliu shines as the naive frightened Gabita.    Exuding a gentility and innocence much like Olivia de Havilland’s Melanie Wilkes in “Gone With The Wind” Vasiliu’s emotion is genuine, heartfelt and extremely moving.   A perfect compliment to the women is veteran Romanian actor Vlad Ivanov as Mr. Bebe - Mungui’s only choice for the role.  Hardened and callous, he is masterful in his movements vacillating from rapist to a “doctor” with a previously unseen kindness in his bedside manner.  He throws you completely off balance which only serves to add to the tension and discomfort of the character and the situation.
Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, the final product is masterful.    Using a controlled and rigid environment, he allows the story and characters to unfold within his designated confines, forcing evocative performance and emotion from his players.  Metaphoric use of an aquarium with fish swimming in view and then out is interpreted as the sight unseen taboos of the day - or any day and place for that matter, a metaphor that was mimicked throughout the film thanks to Mungui’s unconventional style of naturalness.
Use of a handheld camera and natural light lends itself to the soberness and drabness of the time, the country and the story itself, but it also enables Mungui to pan at his leisure creating a sense of time and distorted reality that exponentially turns up the discomfort level to the point of having the audience squirm in their seats at what is happening, particularly during the abortion sequence.   A handheld also allowed Mungui to shoot one shot per scene; i.e., follow the person down the street, in the building, up the stairs and into a room non-stop, thus affording a smooth natural flow.  Simply masterful.
High production values thanks not only to Mungui but also cinematographer Oleg Mutu, superlative acting and compelling story make it easy to see why 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS was handed the Palm D’Or by Jane Fonda last week.    A film not to be missed at this years’s LAFF, 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS screens on Friday, June 22 at 9:45 p.m. at The Landmark and again on Thursday, June 26 at 4:00 p.m. at the Billy Wilder Theater.
Another Romanian submission is THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE.  Directed by Radu Muntean and written by Muntean, Razvan Radulescu and Alexandra Baciu, THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE also speaks to the final hours of the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu and specifically, the night of December 22, 1989 when Ceausescu’s reign of terror was brought to its end compliments of a military coup and general uprising.
In order to quell any uprisings during the chaotic state of the government, militia are dispatched throughout the country under the command of Lt. Neagu.   Themselves uncertain of what is happening in the country, militia and military alike listen as a faltering radio delivers broken and conflicting  reports over control of the national television station, government buildings, towns, etc.   Costi, an ambitious young militia recruit, yearns to enter any fracas that is occurring and pleads and argues with Neagu to go defend the television station.  It’s the closest thing around and it will make them feel involved and useful as opposed to being “babysitters.”    Neagu refuses.  Undeterred Costi breaks ranks and heads off to join the revolution and protect the media outlet.
Stopped in his tracks by a protest, Costi is recruited to aid the protestors in defending their home against terrorists only to find the tables quickly turn as he is branded as a terrorist and arrested.  A little slow on the uptake, Neagu finally realizes that Costi is AWOL.  Fearing his own status with whatever powers are now in charge, Neagu heads off on a manhunt to Costi’s home.
Cutting between Costi, who is trying to defend himself and his democratic beliefs, the Costi household, and scenes of national upheaval, we are met with chaos up close and personal.   His mother and girlfriend are grief-stricken with worry over Costi’s safety, especially when Neagu arrives at the house and reports him missing.  Actual archival television footage broadcasting on December 22, 1989 is playing on the TV, creating even more panic and total sense of confusion.   Civilians have taken up arms.  Gypsies are arrested as being Arab terrorists.  Who are the good guys?  Who are the bad guys?  What are we fighting for, who are we fighting and more importantly, who are we shooting at?   It’s not just verbal barbs being fired that night, but bullets.  And no one seems to have an answer which makes for some comic relief amidst a
country’s darkest day.
In his first feature role, Paul Ipate was hand picked by Radu Muntean to star as Costi.   Himself only 4 years of age when the Revolution took place, Ipate still has memories of his mother pushing him onto the floor under the bed to protect him from stray bullets that may come their way.   He brings a welcome energetic naivete to Costi that is uplifting.    Veteran actor Adi Carauleanu brings 25 years of theater experience to his first major film role, that of Lt. Neagu.   With a depth of emotion that can only come from his vast experience, Carauleanu presents us with man befuddled by chaos, only knowing one thing - the military - but struggling to do the right thing only he doesn’t know what the right thing is.  He is as amusing to watch as Ipate.
Premised on the actual events of the Romanian revolution in which two armored divisions of the Interior Ministry troops were “accidentally butchered” resulting in “considerable media attention” according to Director Radu Muntean.    It was for a period of some 24-48 hours on December 22, 1989 that the Romanian people went “berserk.”   With no clear cut enemy, either by mistake, inadvertence, accident or excusable neglect, 1000 people were left dead.
Using comedy as an outlet to demonstrate the irony and absurdity of humanity, Muntean, together with co-writers Radulescu and Baciu go for broke and create “ a night in the life of” feature. Using actual archival film footage from that fateful night, violence is met head-on but then counter-balanced by things such as armies making tactical decisions based on TV commentary from anyone who can get to a camera or microphone, and a young man calling his mother to vouch for his credibility and political preferences. (In times of war and times of stress, it seems that mothers always play a part.)  However, the lunacy and idiocy (and truth)  of the situation is as appropriate in today’s political climate as it was in Romania in 1989.   The dialogue is at times as chaotic as the story but that is its intention and it works with beauteous result.
Shot entirely at night but for one scene, we again have a film shot using handheld cameras and Altmanesque dialogue structure thus lending itself more to the nature of human emotions and an unbelievable level of honesty and realism.   Capitalizing on the sense of confusion allowed by handheld cameras, combined with the archival television footage, the end result is more of a docudramedy feel that is rare and quite enjoyable.
Well crafted with a rich historical center, THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE is screening on Sunday, June 24 at 4:45 p.m. at The Landmark and Wednesday, June 27 at 9:45 p.m. at the Italian Cultural Institute.