02 hours 35 minutes
  • November 22, 2007

Synopsis

Foreword: The Americans are finally here; only they’re not leaving.
Cristian Nemescu’s first and last feature film: a beginning that unwittingly became an ending.

ROMANIAN
California Dreaming - directed by Cristian Nemescu - online movie on CINEPUB

Directed by: Cristian Nemescu
Script: Cristian Nemescu, Tudor Voican
Cast: Răzvan Vasilescu, Maria Dinulescu, Armand Assante, Jamie Elman, Constantin Drăgănescu, Crina Semciuc, Andi Vasluianu, Alexandru Drăgoi, Ion Sapdaru, Alexandru Margineanu, Constantin Diță, Nicodim Ungureanu, Gabriel Radu, Cătălina Mustață. Gabriel Spahiu, Tomi Cristin
Producers: Andrei Borcea, Iuliana Taroveţchi (executive producer)
Cinematography by: Liviu Mărghidan
Edited by: Cătălin Cristuțiu
Sound: Dana Bunescu
Year: 2007
Category: feature film
Genre: Drama
Duration: 155 minutes

PLOT SUMMARY

In 1999, during the Kosovo War, in a small village in Romania, the station master stops a NATO train carrying military equipment. The transport, guarded by American soldiers, crosses Romania without official documents, relying solely on the verbal approval of the Romanian government. The arrival of the Americans transforms the village into a place of opportunities.

AWARDS

  • 2007 – Cannes – Un certain regard Award
  • 2007 – Bruxelles – Golden Iris Award for Best film. Audience Award. Canvas special prize
  • 2007 – Kiev, Molodist – FIPRESCI Award and Special jury prize
  • 2007 – Anominul – Anonimul Trophy
  • 2007 – Londra – Satyajit Ray Award
  • 2007 – UCIN – Best director. Best screenplay. Best actor in a leading role (Răzvan Vasilescu). Special jury prize (Armand Assante)
  • 2008 – Gopo – Best screenplay. Best actor in a leading role (Răzvan Vasilescu), Best editing, Best costume design. Young hope Award (Tudor Voican)
  • 2008 – RiverRun International Film Festival – Jury prize for Best Actor (Răzvan Vasilescu), Best cinematography. Special jury prize for Best Director

CRITICAL REVIEWS

“There are very few films that radiate as much love for fellow human beings as this rich and intense film, made with its heart on its sleeve. Not to be missed.” – Mihai Fulger, “Observator Cultural”, June 2007, agenda.liternet.ro

“It is a film for the public in the most vivid and generous sense of the phrase: a popular cinematic spectacle staged with talent and ambition, with intelligence and taste, but above all with the conviction that, regardless of what future it may or may not have as an art form, here or elsewhere, cinema must remain popular. This concern sets it apart from the other good Romanian films released in the last two years — from «The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu» and «The Paper Will Be Blue», and even from the relatively lighthearted «12:08 East of Bucharest».” – Andrei Gorzo, “Dilema Veche”, June 2007, agenda.liternet.ro

“The blend of a well-written screenplay, excellent performances, small ‘ciné-vérité’ moments, and adolescent daydreaming («magical neorealism», a hallmark of Nemescu’s style) succeeds in making «California Dreamin’» one of the most substantial and personal debuts in Romanian cinema. It is a ‘comic thriller’ that is by turns funny, engaging, and moving, building the initial joke to a boiling point in the finale, when the absurd becomes tragic.” – Alex. Leo Șerban, “Libertatea,” June 2007, agenda.liternet.ro

“Nemescu’s film seems to possess the qualities of a masterpiece, (…) the director’s untimely death (…) lending it a sketch-like quality, one of spontaneous and inspired creation, of pure art, in which life breathes through every pore.” – Roxana Pavnotescu, agenda.liternet.ro

“What is extraordinary about Nemescu’s film is its power of generalization. These sequences, small films in themselves, which catch you off guard, unfold so impressively along the way through repetition and (seemingly) humorous explanations, manage to synthesize in a few images the entire tormented history of Romania. Something that has never happened before in our cinema.” – Cristina Zaharia, agenda.liternet.ro

“Cristian Nemescu was undeniably a filmmaker with immense potential. He demonstrated keen observation, capturing moments and social micro-phenomena that are commonplace in our reality (such as childhood in a rough neighborhood) but unfamiliar to the local screen. He managed (to a certain extent) to convey their naturalness and credibility within the story, and he did so in an artistic, engaging way, raising the bar for Romanian short films.” – Filip Columbeanu, agenda.liternet.ro

“An obstacle course through the new realism of young directors and the recent history of Romanian cinema, which goes beyond anecdotes and sitcoms, returns to sweeping epics, and shows signs of learning to be ambitious, bold, and natural.” – Cătălin Sturza, “Cultura”, August 2008, agenda.liternet.ro

“Both a debut and a swan song, «California Dreamin’» brings together everything Cristian Nemescu had explored in his earlier short films. Like those, it is a deeply autobiographical film, just as much as it is a bitter, cheerful, and sad portrait of Romania that Americans discover late, full of weeds – or, more precisely, carnivorous plants. The Romania that Cristian Nemescu and co-screenwriter Tudor Voican saw while reading the newspapers. (In fact, cinematographer Liviu Marghidan found the subject in the press.) A people who waited in vain for the Americans for over 50 years and who, when they finally pass through, tackle them. With bread and salt, but also with a surge of vengeful conscience.” – Iulia Blaga, “Suplimentul de cultură,” July 2007, agenda.liternet.ro

“It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed so hard at a Romanian film as I did at Cristian Nemescu’s «California Dreamin’».” But, just as in the case of Nae Caranfil, whom I believe Nemescu resembles, the audience’s laughter was tearful: a laugh-cry.” – Daniel Cristea-Enache, “Suplimentul de cultură,” June 2007, agenda.liternet.ro

“A contemporary fairy tale with a distinctly Romanian flavor. – Maria Andrieș, “Gazeta Sporturilor,” June 2007, agenda.liternet.ro

“A lively, expansive film, with the first two-thirds featuring a good mix of humor, love story, and real-life drama… Plus an epilogue with open-ended possibilities. The ending, however…” – Lucian Maier, agenda.liternet.ro

“«California Dreamin’» is a brilliant film for foreign audiences but mundane for Romania. It’s as if a foreigner visiting Bucharest and seeing the People’s Palace exclaims ‘Wow!’ while a resident of the Rahova neighborhood, who passes it daily on the way to downtown, curses it because it’s too big and forces him to take a detour. Probably since «Philanthropy» I haven’t seen a film that defines us better as a nation, and from «California Dreamin’» onward, I think we’ll wish we didn’t have to watch films in which we define ourselves with such passion.” – Eduard Țone, agenda.liternet.ro

“In «California dreamin’ (Endless)», the Czechoslovak School is reflected in the most honest way — not through pastiche or imitation, but simply rediscovered in its true form.” – Mihnea Columbeanu, agenda.liternet.ro

TRIVIA

  • The film is structured as a blend of social commentary and a love story.
  • It was released in an unfinished form, as the producers deliberately chose not to alter the footage left behind after Cristian Nemescu’s death, in order to preserve the director’s vision “100%.”
  • It has a final runtime of approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes, longer than director Cristian Nemescu’s original intention, because it was never definitively edited. Producer MediaPro Pictures chose to keep the film almost in its entirety, removing only a few fragments and adding the subtitle “(Endless)”.
  • Among the elements that remain less dramatically integrated in the released version are the power outage and the subplot involving the bomb left over from the war, a sign that the film bears the traces of an interrupted editing process.
  • The final edit was completed by Cătălin Cristuțiu, following the death of director Cristian Nemescu.
  • The story is based on a real-life event reported in the press: the detention of a NATO train by a stationmaster in Romania due to a lack of documentation.
  • Actor Armand Assante attended the Cannes Film Festival for the first time with a Romanian film (California Dreamin’ (Endless)).
  • The role of Monica, played by Maria Dinulescu, was one of the most acclaimed by film critics, helping to solidify the actress’s standing in cinema.
  • Director Cristian Nemescu had been preparing the film for about two years before shooting began, and on set he “knew exactly what he wanted from everyone”, maintaining clear control over the entire process.
  • From the actress’s perspective, one of the film’s “secrets” was the naturalness of the performances, which manage to resonate on multiple levels simultaneously — both with the general public and with intellectual audiences.
  • The film had a strong impact on audiences in Bucharest, being perceived as a rare combination of auteur cinema and accessibility, with Nemescu seen as a director capable of blending “commercial appeal with art”.
  • The film’s international success helped raise the profile of Romanian actors, in part due to interest from foreign filmmakers (in the case of Maria Dinulescu, this included a French director’s desire to write a special role for her).
  • Maria Dinulescu views 2007 as a “historic” moment for Romanian cinema, with the film’s success associated with the emergence of an entire generation.
  • The production design by Ioana Corciova is noted for its set details, including the kitsch paintings prepared for the “distinguished guests”, featuring Clinton, George Washington, Elvis, Martin Luther King, and Stephen the Great together.
  • The sequences set in 1944 are filmed in black and white, with a visual style inspired by the cinema of the era, not only in terms of color but also in framing, lighting, and rhythm.

LINES

• “Did your dad give you this car?” – Doiaru (Răzvan Vasilescu)
• “Es finito, comprende?” – Monica (Maria Dinulescu)
• “When I catch those gypsies, they’ll see what it means to steal from me.” – Doiaru (Răzvan Vasilescu)
• “We’re going on a spontaneous strike.” — The workers’ leader (Gabriel Spahiu)
• “It’s transporting NATO military equipment. It has free passage from Bucharest.” — Stelică (Radu Gabriel)
• “We don’t sell ourselves so easily, sir.” — The workers’ leader (Gabriel Spahiu)
• “After all, do whatever you want. That’s what democracy is for, isn’t it?” – The Mayor (Ion Sapdaru)
• “Fuck the USA, fuck NATO, fuck Bill Clinton and those guys in Bucharest! This is my station.” – Doiaru (Răzvan Vasilescu)
• “You women are all the same.” – Doiaru (Răzvan Vasilescu)
• “This is the story of the first black man I’ve ever seen.” – The Mayor (Ion Sapdaru)
• “My friend, it’s simple: papers – Americans go. No papers – Americans don’t go.” – Doiaru (Răzvan Vasilescu)
• “We’re learning Spanish with that idiot instead of learning English.” – Monica (Maria Dinulescu)
• “I’m stupid and ugly!” – Monica’s friend (Laura Voicu)
• “Until you bring those customs papers, the train isn’t going anywhere. Clinton himself could come.” – Doiaru (Răzvan Vasilescu)
• “I want to get as far away from here as possible.” – Monica (Maria Dinulescu)
• “Folks, you all have a problem. I mean, we all have a problem.” – The Major (Ion Sapdaru)
• “United as one!” – Captain Jones (Armand Assante)
• “What are the little peaches doing?” – Andrei (Alexandru Mărgineanu)
• “They’re being peachy.” – Monica (Maria Dinulescu)

ARTICLES

INTERVIEWS

  • Interview with Armand Assante: “Armand Assante: Cristi was one of the few young filmmakers from whom I had something to learn,” by Iulia Blaga – agenda.liternet.ro
  • Interview with Liviu Marghidan, director of photography – blog.f64.ro
  • Interview with Maria Dinulescu: “I yearn for professionalism, culture, and inspiration,” by Roxana Călinescu – agenda.liternet.ro

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