Synopsis
Foreword: Grigore (Mitică Popescu) is a young construction engineer who has recently become single. His lifestyle would be the problem, the recurring move from one construction site to another, his ex-partner notes in a note. Despite the obvious heartbreak, the man leaves his cozy office and moves on to his next project: a weaving mill on a construction site in the provinces – cinepub.ro
Directed by: Felicia Cernăianu
Script: Gheorghe Manole
Cast: Mitică Popescu, Cornelia Gheorghiu, Vasile Cosma, Nae Gheorghe Mazilu, Dorel Vișan, Costel Constantinescu, Gheorghe Visu, Petre Gheorghiu, Adriana Șchiopu, Papil Panduru, Draga Olteanu Matei, Ilarion Ciobanu, Grigore Gonța, Mircea Jida, Constantin Dinescu, Rodica Negrea, Dorina Lazăr, Dumitru Chesa, Alexandru Lazăr, Manuela Hărăbor, Medeea Marinescu
Producer: Nicolae Codrescu, Roxana Pană
Cinematography by: Ion Marinescu
Edited by: Gabriela Nasta
Sound: Bogdan Cavadia
Music: Radu Zamfirescu
Year: 1978
Category: Feature film
Genre: Drama
Duration: 84 minutes
23,598 – Cinepub viewers
PLOT SUMMARY
Grigore Romcescu, a young construction engineer seconded as a site foreman to build a weaving mill in a small provincial town, comes into conflict with the company’s investment manager over his fair application of production rules and his nonconformity.
CRITICAL REVIEWS:
“It forms a sketch of the man in one piece: a rum-drinking, handball (not soccer) enthusiast who learns English on cassette tapes, but at the same time a convinced communist. But Grigore is not fully realized as a character. His iron determination only adds to the confusion of the viewer, who may well not fully grasp the significance of the power dynamics on the construction site, nor the crisis of concrete use on one side or the other, because they are not effectively articulated. As colorful as Grigore is, with the jeans he’s always wearing, with his head in the sink of cold water after a heavy drink, with his always sharp one-liners, the perpetual feeling is that something is missing.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro
“There are small moments of spontaneity, a few documentary-style shots of people on the street, a sequence in which Maria (Adriana Șchiopu), a technician and colleague of Grigore’s, preemptively covers her ears just before the man slams the door in a rage. Or the one in which Grigore briefly meets a textile worker (Rodica Negrea) and asks her to call the comrade-in-chief, and the anxious-political young woman immediately complies.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro
“In between struggling to right the wrongs on the construction site and attempting a romantic rapprochement, Grigore retains his aura of cynical savvy. All that remains is for him to listen unconvincingly to the advice of those close to him, to soften himself, to acquire humanity and to collaborate.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro
TRIVIA:
- Felicia Cernaianu was born in 1940 in Bucharest. She graduated from the Film Directing Department of the “Ion Luca Caragiale” Institute of Theatrical and Cinematographic Art in Bucharest in 1968.
- She was assistant director on Constantin Vaeni’s “The Wall“, made several documentaries and two feature films.
- The role of Grigore Romcescu was Mitică Popescu’s first leading role. He said: “The construction site where it was filmed is somewhere in the North of Bucharest and whenever I pass through that area, I remember it with nostalgia. It wasn’t difficult for me during the filming, because I was used to studying the text very carefully from the theater, and the crew was very kind.” (Mitică Popescu)
- The film was watched by 1,279,425 spectators in Romanian cinemas, according to a situation of the number of spectators recorded by Romanian films from the date of premiere until December 31, 2014 compiled by the National Center of Cinematography.
LINES:
“I’m not an engineer. I specialize in investments.” – Ion Ciorbaru (Vasile Cosma)
“Stay close, I’ll teach you everything!” – Ion Ciorbaru (Vasile Cosma)
“Coffee is on me. I can’t let a boss give me advice as well as coffee.” – Grigore Romcescu (Mitică Popescu)
“Those who create a law know why they do it.” – Director of the Weaving Mill (Dorel Vișan)
“At every construction site I tell myself that now I’m going to get married. And I didn’t.” – Vasile Grigore (Gheorghe Visu)
“I don’t want to get married. I wanted to once.” – Grigore Romcescu (Mitică Popescu)
“Scarlet fever. It’s hard to catch. But I’ll give it to you for free, because I know you.” – Grigore Romcescu (Mitică Popescu)
“I only sign legal statements. For work actually executed.” – Grigore Romcescu (Mitică Popescu)
“I have no cement. What do you want me to do?” – Gorun (Costel Constantinescu)
“A badly poured concrete, that’s how it dies!” – Grigore Romcescu (Mitică Popescu)
“Happiness has its own taste and color. That’s why no two happinesses are the same. It depends on the person.” – Lemnea (Nae Gheorghe Mazilu)
“What am I doing on this construction site? Couldn’t I find a warmer place? Maybe at the Labor Protection Office.” – Grigore Romcescu (Mitică Popescu)
“It may rain now. The corn is growing.” – Vasile Grigore (Gheorghe Visu)
“This factory is my life. I defend a cause, not an ambition!” – Lemnea (Nae Gheorghe Mazilu)
“We need competence. Responsible people in the positions they are in.” – Grigore Romcescu (Mitică Popescu)
ARTICLES:
- A book a day: “Felicia Cernăianu. The taste and color of happiness”, by Mircea Bunescu, Alexandru Goldgraber – mediafax.ro
- “The Taste and Color of Happiness” and “Fox Hunting” with Mitică Popescu – tvmania.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.
