Romanian film review – Rediscover and rewatch: Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour & comedy gold

If January is a month to seek the comfort of classics, so is February. And Bucharest surely delivers these days.

Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour arrived for its second edition in Bucharest, and I am delighted to see it was not a singular event last year. Taking place in the Italian town of Bologna, Il Cinema Ritrovato, (“cinema re-discovered”) has been around for almost four decades and it is the most important festival dedicated to the preservation and restoration of original film material worldwide. There are many known films shown in terrific restoration and just as many that have been lost or almost destroyed. Always a revelation.

Cinema Elvire Popescu is hosting the Bucharest event until 9 February, this time dedicated to Marcello Mastroianni, born 100 years ago, the actor associated most with the Italian cinema of the 1950s to 1970s (you might remember him from the last column). Vittorio De Sica paired him with another icon, Sophia Loren, in a series of vignettes about romance, sex, and all things Italian. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow/ Ieri, oggi, domani (1963) is frothy and carried by a fabulous acting duo. My absolute highlight is Ermanno Olmi’s Il Posto, Il Job in its English title, and The Sound of Trumpets in its US released title . The 1961 drama is a magnificent coming-of-age (very) bittersweet story about a shy young man trying to find his place in his first proper job at a big company in Milan. On his journey he also stumbles into unexpected (potential) romance. Il Posto is gentle, melancholic and amusing, while the criticism of faceless companies and corporate work is sharp and clear. Tender and wise, this is such a gem.

Three of the films are much less popular: Armenian, Georgia (then USSR)-born Sergei Parajanov is famous for his later poetic, striking films so what a great chance to see his debut Andriesh(1954) and the 1966 Kyiv Frescoes, while Marva Nabili’s The Sealed Soil/ Khak-e Sar Bé Mohr (1977) is one of the two films directed by women in Iran before the 1979 Revolution that survived. What rediscovered treasures indeed.

I am moving on to more classics, this time in no need of any rediscovery in the historical sense but forever re-watchable.