Romanian film review – An End of Summer Watch List
With summer almost over, here is a list of movies to accompany these last moments of the season, or to watch them later and prolong the summer nostalgia. The list includes titles which take place at the seaside, in the mountains (i.e. you…
Ioana Moldovan · Journalist
· Updated · 4 min read
With summer almost over, here is a list of movies to accompany these last moments of the season, or to watch them later and prolong the summer nostalgia. The list includes titles which take place at the seaside, in the mountains (i.e. you classical summer holiday spots), or generally in a setting suggesting heat, holidays, laziness, and, needless to say, yours truly can happily recommend. So scroll below and click on the links for more details on the movies and where to watch them (if the linked articles should not include this info because they were published when the films were still running theatrically, you can find them meanwhile on DVD/Blu-ray at Cărturești or Amazon).
Summer is almost always synonymous with lightness and comedy, so the kick-off should belong to a true comedy classic. B.D. la munte și la mare( 1971), about a police squad fighting petty crime, stars some of the best comedy actors this country has ever produced, jaw-dropping slapstick and a miracle-making icon.
Nae Caranfil's hilarious, sexy road movie Asphalt Tango (1996) is, like all of his films, fiercely intelligent, brilliantly written and admirable at mixing humour and drama. The story of a hapless guy trying to win back his wife who is leaving for Paris is an endlessly quotable gem. And it stars the formidable Charlotte Rampling.
Another classic, and immensely moving, especially considering its true story, is Cristian Nemescu's 2007 California Dreamin' (Endless). The story of a group of American soldiers travelling through Romania in 1999 with military equipment on their way to Kosovo and being stuck in a dusty village due to bureaucracy and an overzealous station chief has laughs, a big heart, and a wonderful Armand Assante. Just as moving, but equally delightful, and very very droll, is Marian Crișan's Morgen(2010), the story of an unassuming security guard in a city near to the Hungarian border who stumbles over an illegal Turkish refugee on his way to Germany. I might be bending the rules a bit here, because I am not sure whether it's not set in late spring, but the film is too moving and too good not to be mentioned.
Tudor Giurgiu's Of Snails and Men(2012) is also grounded in social realities, featuring a group of factory employees with a highly unorthodox idea to raise money and save their jobs. Set in the 1980s, it is gloriously retro and very droll.
