Synopsis
Based on the novellas by Alexandru Sahia: ‘The Death of the Young Man with a Short Term‘, ‘The Father’s Return from War‘, and ‘On the Blood Plain of Mărășești,‘ this drama unfolds.
Directed by: Manole Marcus, Iulian Mihu
Script: Iulian Mihu, Manole Marcus, Alexandru Sahia (novel)
Cast: Emil Botta, Lazăr Vrabie, Dana Comnea, Nicolae Enache Praida, Angela Chiuaru, Mircea Balaban, Vasile Ichim, Romulus Neacsu, Ilie Duțu, Marius Rucăreanu
Producers: Gheorghe Teban
Cinematography by: Mircea George Cornea, Gheorghe Fischer, Alexandru Întorsureanu
Edited by: Lucia Anton
Year: 1957
Category: Feature film
Genre: Drama
Duration: 75 minutes
13,319 – Cinepub viewers
PLOT SUMMARY
War film, psychological drama. A film of interrogative remembrance and elegy along the lines of the innovations of the French “New Wave,” but also through the rehabilitation of traditional flashbacks with a historical-philosophical opening.
The young intellectual hero, mortally wounded on the front lines of the Second World War, recalls, in successive steps, his own past and that of his father (up to the period preceding the First World War), attempting to answer fundamental questions regarding the rationale of war and preparations for war, in general
CRITICAL REVIEWS
“The mirror of an era of turmoil, of stylistic gains, in which Romanian cinema was shedding its ephemeral tension and attempting to produce for posterity, the film is a peroration on the theme of consciousness responsibility towards everything happening around, towards everything subjected to choice.” – Romulus Rusan – 1978 (România Literară)
TRIVIA
- The main roles were played by actors Ilie Duțu, Nicolae Praida, and Marius Rucăreanu.
- The film faced entire series of delays and “reworkings,” being blocked by censorship for months. Both the film and its innovative, experimental formula raised issues for the authors: at a filmmakers’ conference, newcomer Iulian Mihu was vehemently admonished for his “recalcitrant” opinions.
ARTICLES
- Life Doesn’t Spare (1959) – Lucian Mircu – 2014 – mareleecran.net
- Manole Marcus – An atypical director – Horațiu Măndășescu – 2024 – independentaromana.ro
- Iulian Mihu, between calophilia and derision – Marian Rădulescu – 2014 – agenda.liternet.ro
This premiere is part of a national archive project supported by the Romanian National Film Centre.
Special thanks goes to the Romanian Filmmakers Union and to the Romanian Film Archive.
