#romanian movie

[elizabeth-halime]

[celluloidrainbow]

DUPĂ DEALURI (2012) dir. Cristian Mungiu Alina and Voichita have been friends since their orphanage days and lovers since their teens. But despite their oath of mutual fidelity, Alina emigrated to Germany where she became a barmaid. Now, she returns with the intent to take Voichita along with her back to Germany. Voichita lives in a convent where she plans to make vows and become a nun. The priest agrees, if somewhat reluctantly, to accommodate Alina before their (hypothetical) departure, but sees that the woman could become a problem in the future. Based on a book by Tatiana Niculescu Bran, in turn inspired by the real-life case of the Tanacu exorcism. (link in title)

[sapphixxx]

Signalis, Authority, and History

There's a level of nuance to how Signalis presents the violence of the authority of the nation that doesn't call attention to itself but which I really appreciate. Which is basically just, all the officers and cops and spies who make life hell for people like the Gestalt mine workers, Ariane, and the Itou family--we get little glimpses into who they are in Adler and Kolibri's diaries and despite the propaganda and the authoritative tone they take in official communications, for the most part they don't seem to actually be particularly invested in the hard line of national ideology. They uphold it though, viciously, both because things were worse under imperial rule (we don't get hard details on what it was like but it's mentioned in passing enough that I believe it) and because they're scared that if they don't they will be decommissioned and easily replaced. They are literally stamped out of a production line after all. There's a subtext of well, if I don't do it my replacement will anyway and I'm not trying to die so what's the point of rocking the boat?

I think Kolibri stands out to me most clearly on this because in communications from the block warden regarding Ariane there is emphasis put on how it is unacceptable and suspicious that she should be so interested and invested in art and literature that does not serve the purpose of furthering the goals of the nation. But we know that Kolibris themselves are bookworms, Adlers are fiends for stimulating experiences, and both get miserable FAST when deprived of art and puzzles and entertainment and hobbies. Y'know, just like anyone. Far be it from being a paragon of The Nation only interested in productive labor, we are reminded that the block warden, too, hates this shitty town and wants to transfer but is denied. They're hypocrites, but not monsters, nor brainwashed puppets of the state.

The monstrousness at play is not contained within any particular subset of evil individuals, or even an inherent universal force of evil contained in the broad notion of The Nation. There is no cosmic evil force that makes them all do these things to each other. The monstrousness is within the social systems, the mechanisms of how authority perpetuates on a structural procedural level, held in place by fear and tangible threats of violence, each link in the chain restraining the next through those threats out of fear that if they don't, then they'll be next. Regardless how many, if any, of those people in this chain are true dogmatic hardliners, they must act as such because failing to do so opens them up to danger.

Here then I think of the quote that is so prominent, "Great holes secretly are digged where earth’s pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl", from Lovecraft's The Festival. This is not just a chilling abstract visual that conveniently evokes a mineshaft-- in Lovecraft's story, this line refers to worms which ate the decomposing bodies of wizards whose wretched souls had remained after death, complete with the terrible powers they gained through contracts with demons. Those worms inherited both their power, and also the evil. The Nation, despite having overthrown the Empire, is built on imperial technology, in particular Replikas and bioresonance. So too, then, we can imply that The Nation inherited with those things some of the monstrousness of The Empire as well. There is no end of history, nor clean break with the past, no matter how violently it may seem to be rejected. That which remains from the past--and something inevitably always does--creates the present.

This is a game that is not shy about evoking East Germany. And I think all of this provides a sophisticated picture of repressive authority that we rarely see in fiction of the English speaking world, especially in games. The year the S23 incident takes place is notably 84, but, frankly, I find this to be more compelling and illustrative than 1984 (and I'm a librarian and have taught English classes so I get to say that). Orwell, let's be honest, presents a fairly one dimensional picture of authority, where people seize power and wield it against others out of seeming mustache twirling evil or malice.

Here though we get a more humanistic view. Authority did not come from nowhere and is not wielded arbitrarily out of gleeful cruelty or mindless brainwashed allegiance. People aren't "just following orders". Individuals have rich inner lives. They make decisions, and those decisions are based in the context they're in. Even the decision to carry repressive tools of the past into the present is a decision that was made strategically with the big picture in mind. Nobody woke up and decided to be evil that day. Everyone operates on self interest, and, we must assume, an earnest desire for things to get better. Even the [spoiler] program which served as an inspirational demonstration of The Nation's power, you can imagine the chain of officers and bureaucrats who genuinely wanted the people of the nation to believe in the future, to confidently trust that everyone was working together towards something great and beautiful. And, through a long chain of those people who couldn't say "No" without being decommissioned, we ended up with something unbelievably cruel.

We get to know Adler and Kolibri and the other officers not to say well they're human too, maybe it wasn't so bad that they condemned all those people to agonizing suffering, but to remember that if we keep looking for true monsters we will not find them. There are no monsters and there are no demons. There are only people making decisions. A better world is possible. A better world, where Adler is just a paper pusher who does puzzles after work instead of signing papers to authorize torture, where Kolibris are librarians instead of spies and cops, where EULEs can gossip and play piano and ARARs can do maintenance on facilities that don't contain torture rooms, is one that would not have led to the Ariane and Elster's tragic cycle and ultimate end.

Authority and its attendant cruelty is not contained, radiating forth from The Great Revolutionary and Her Daughter, it is within the social systems of control. When those two women die, that cruelty will continue so long as those social systems continue. Like Lovecraft's worms, no matter how long dead the evil of the past is, so long as it continues to be fed upon, that evil will not only remain, but evolve into something new in the present. A better world can't be achieved through the death of the old world alone, even if violent overthrow is warranted. There is no end of history. There is no clean break from the past.

"Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living."

Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

[gifmovie]

[cinematic-literature]

Rotting in the Sun (2023) by Sebastián Silva

Book title: The Trouble with Being Born (De l'inconvénient d'être né in French; 1973) by Emil Cioran

[witch-house-in-winter]

I would never even imagine working for disney, but by god i wish i would be put in charge to make a 2D animated adaptation for the romanian fairytale Ileana Simziana who has pretty much a canonically trans character (i ofc lack any skills to make that possible but i still dream about this everyday)

[anchy2006]

Does Josh O'Connor only take roles if he has the chance to lust over a Romanian?

[shadowsteed15]

Last year I went on a little tour to Romania and so I am now sharing a few pictures from the castles that have something to do with Dracula. 😊

Last castle I have here is the Poenari Castle, which is perhaps the most interesting, because this is the actual castle that belonged to Vlad Tepes when he ruled Wallachia in the 15th century. It is located high up on a steep moutain, making it a very good defensible structure, and the only way to access it today is by climbing almost 1500 steps.

The castle is largely in ruins now, as it also suffered from several earthquakes over the centuries after it was abandoned, but it is currently being under reconstruction. The climb is very well worth it though, cause the views from there are amazing. It is supposedly haunted by the spirit of Vlad Tepes himself and also of his wife, who commited suicide during the castle's siege in 1462 by jumping from the tower.

[pennypyro]

“In Vladislav’s Russia, sandwich eat you!” —Vladislav the Poker

[pacingmusings]

New York Film Festival 2023:

Do Not Expect too Much of the End of the World (Radu Jude), 2023

In this world/We walk on the roof of hell/Gazing at flowers

-Kobayashi Issa

[classical-vanity]

Top 9 first watches in 2023

Thank you for tagging me @desideria 💛

I’ve only done four because I don’t think I watched 9 new things lol

I tag: @thecynical-idealist @disappearndissolve @devaneiossuspensos @unefleurofferte @wanturbelly @klimtskuss @little-flaw if you want to do this🫶🏻

[royalsofhistory]

The one and only great thing to come out of communist Romania was its splendid film industry. Pictured above are stills from a favourite of mine, that I used to watch with my father – the Brigada Diverse (1970’s) trilogy, directed by Mircea Drăgan. Intriguing plots, talented actors, spectacular cinematography and peak comedy.

Source.

[celluloidrainbow]

LEGĂTURI BOLNĂVICIOASE (2006) dir. Tudor Giurgiu Alex and Cristina are university students who end up living in the same building. Their friendship develops quickly, overcoming several phases, from fellowship to care and tenderness. While the two are very different, the two girls get along fine, except for the moments when a third character shows up — Sandu, Kiki's brother who is permanently tormented by a very much unnatural jealousy... (link in title)

[adarkrainbow]

Masterpost 17: Mid-season intermission

Cool stuff: Lisbeth Zwerger's H&G - A series of international fairytale crossovers - Hansel and Gretel's (video game?) designs - The H&G puppet opera - A gay fairytale musical - Some French fairytale paintings - Joellyn Rock illustrations for Sicilian folktales - A Dark Fairytale illustration set/card game - The Greek Snow-White (Gripari style)

Illustrations of archetypes: Hansel and Gretel's witch - Cinderella's fairy godmother - Frau Holle (don't hesitate to check the reblogs, there's cool additions)

Asks: About the Sisters Grimm - About Donkeyskin differences - About Disney and obscure fairytales

About fairytale movies: My conclusions about French fairytale movies (one - two) - Damsel and its novel - The Czech Three Brothers movie (part 1 - part 2)

Fairytales in anime and manga: After Meruhen - Otona no Douwa - Mermaid Melody - Fruits Basket - Otomo Katsuhiro's Hansel and Gretel

Various facts: How Mother Goose's stories went from adults-only to children-only - A scandalous Frau Holle statue - An article about the World War I book of fairytales by Edmund Dulac - An article about The Magic Flute and fairytales

About "Frau Holle": part 1 - part 2 - part 3

Romanian witches: Muma Padurii - Baba Cloantza - Baba Dochia

And... Do YOU remember your first fairytale book?

[ueberdemnebelmeer]

You see, the man who leaves is not the same when he returns.

DUPĂ DEALURI / BEYOND THE HILLS 2012 | dir. Cristian Mungiu

[cinnamon-notes]

i love having multiple skills and random knowledge to bring up casually just because the subject emerged yet you didn't know i knew that