"New Wave on the Black Sea"

January 21, 2008 11:16 AM

Comprehensive profile, in the NY Times magazine, of the new crop of talented Romanian filmmakers.Be sure to check out the interactive component of the story, with clips and commentary on several recent films.
posted by lovejones (7 comments total)

I had sort of made a mental note to check out more Romanian cinema after watching 12:08 East of Bucharest, which they mention in the story.

That is one of the funniest movies I have seen in recent years.
posted by vacapinta at 11:23 AM on January 21, 2008

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days is incredible. It just got snubbed by the Academy for the foreign-language Oscars, but it's opening this week. Don't miss.
posted by muckster at 11:53 AM on January 21, 2008

It just got snubbed by the Academy for the foreign-language Oscars

Wha? I thought nominations were tomorrow.
posted by dobbs at 1:17 PM on January 21, 2008

Right, but the shortlist was announced last week, and 4 Months wasn't on it. Neither were Persepolis, Secret Sunshine, or The Orphanage -- and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly wasn't even submitted.

The foreign-language contenders now are: The Counterfeiters (Austria), The Year My Parents Went of Vacation (Brazil), Days of Darkness (Canada), Beaufort (Israel), The Unknown (Italy), Mongol (Kazakstan), Katyn (Poland), 12 (Russia), and The Trap (Serbia). Check this self link for more.
posted by muckster at 1:23 PM on January 21, 2008

Maybe Persepolis'll just get Best Animated Feature. :)
posted by dobbs at 1:33 PM on January 21, 2008

I'm not much of a prognosticator, dobbs, but my money's on Ratatouille -- which I know you didn't care for. In other late-breaking Oscar news, Jonny Greenwood's There Will Be Blood score has just been deemed "ineligible" by the Academy. (If you feel like discussing this nonsense, stop by idrinkyourmilkshake.com.)

I'll stop hijacking the thread with Oscar talk now, lovejones. Thanks for the post -- the new Romanian films are fascinating, but most people haven't had a chance to see them yet, at least in the States. 12:08 East of Bucharest and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu are available on DVD though.
posted by muckster at 2:20 PM on January 21, 2008

You can't go wrong with any of the films featured in the article. I'd also recommend Filantropica (2002) by Nae Caranfil, and Cum mi-am petrecut sfarsitul lumii The Way I Spent the End of the World (2006) by Catalin Mitulescu, if you can track them down.

Director Lucian Pintille precedes this generation but his film, Balanta The Oak (1992), is a classic of Romanian (and world) cinema and not to be missed.
posted by lovejones at 2:40 PM on January 21, 2008