THE MOROMETE FAMILY: ON THE EDGE OF TIME (2018) – drama film online

*This movie can be viewed only with a Romanian IP address

*This movie can be viewed only with a Romanian IP address

Directed by: Stere Gulea
Script: Marin Preda (novel), Stere Gulea
Cast: Horațiu Mălăele, Dana Dogaru, Paul Ipate, Marian Adochiței, Andreea Bibiri, Anca Androne, Iosif Paștina, Ioana Bugarin, Răzvan Vasilescu, George Mihăiță, Andi Vasluianu, Oana Pellea, Ion Caramitru, Gheorghe Visu, Florin Zamfirescu, Mihai Bobonete, Marian Râlea, Cuzin Toma, Liviu Pintileasa, Dorina Chiriac, Dragoș Huluba, Marius Florea Vizante, Bogdan Talașman, Cristian Șofron, Alex Bogdan, Ana Ciontea, Lucian Iftime, Costel Cașcaval, Constantin Dinulescu, Alexandru Potocean, Ion Arcudeanu
Producer: Tudor Giurgiu, Oana Giurgiu
Cinematography by: Vivi Drăgan Vasile
Edited by: Dana Bunescu, Alexandra Gulea
Sound: Dana Bunescu, Cristinel Șirli, Constantin Fleancu
Music: Vasile Sirli
Year: 2018
Category: Feature film
Genre: Drama
Duration: 107 minutes

18,791 – Cinepub viewers

PLOT SUMMARY

A sequel to The Moromete Family (1987), the tale follows the life of the Moromete family after WWII, with Romania being overpowered by Communism.

AWARDS:

• 2019 – Gopo – Best Film
• 2019 – Gopo – Best cinematography (Vivi Drăgan Vasile)
• 2019 – Gopo – Best Editing (Dana Bunescu and Alexandra Gulea)
• 2019 – Gopo – Best Sound (Dana Bunescu, Cristinel Șirli and Constantin Fleancu)
• 2019 – Gopo – Best Scenery (Cristian Niculescu)
• 2019 – Gopo – Best Costumes (Dana Păpăruz)
• 2019 – Gopo – Best make-up and hairstyle (Dana Roșeanu, Iulia Roșeanu and Domnica Bodogan)
• 2019 – TIFF – Audience Award

CRITICAL REVIEWS:

“The two films made by Stere Gulea, more than three decades apart, are almost unique in Romanian cinematography. It was extremely rare for a director who made films before 1989 to return to the universe of one of them after the Revolution.” – Ionuț Mareș, ziarulmetropolis.ro

“With the exception of some moments of family intimacy and father-son relationship, when the direction allows the accumulation of emotions, the film is Manicheist in its representation of the village and society. And its structure involves a hurried accumulation of events, a tumbling of happenings, which leaves no time for the characters and several narrative sequences and tracks to develop and gain relief.” – Ionuț Mareș, ziarulmetropolis.ro

“In a Romanian cinematography dominated by long sequence shots, with the camera kept at a certain distance from the characters, “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time” proposes a counterweight – a classic style with changes of camera position within the same sequence, numerous close-ups, all rendered through a rich cut, which also allows for an abundance of information.” – Ionuț Mareș, ziarulmetropolis.ro

“(…) The conflict between the communist son and the skeptic father was going on (in the first movie) – Preda had given convincing force to both positions. In Gulea’s 2 it doesn’t hold: the director-screenwriter neutralizes it as soon as he primes it.” – Andrei Gorzo, andreigorzoblog.wordpress.com

“The labors of the fields are the same, the voices of the village can still be heard in the background, but time has no patience with Preda and Gulea’s characters. The filmmaker is interested both in the disappearance of the latter peasant (as the literary critic Nicolae Manolescu called Ilie Moromete) and in the formative period of Niculae, an obvious alter ego of the writer. In the movie, Niculae the creator takes the place of Niculae the activist in the book, but the change of emphasis does not overshadow the profound transformation of Romanian society. Without being a literary adaptation, but neither too free, Gulea’s movie succeeds in an exemplary way in recreating the spirit of Preda’s world, at the intersection of reality and fiction.” – Mihai Fulger, cooltneamt.ro

“Gulea’s repeated interest in the socialist period, present in his post-revolution films gives “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time” a dignity that other communist exploitation productions released in recent years do not enjoy. In the absence of a nuanced development of the political dimension, Gulea’s film devotes itself (not without skill) to the intimate dimension of the story: Niculae’s break from his family, his step into the new world in which he is to become an established writer, and his attempts to make sense of the changes that surround him.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro

“Both “The Moromete Family” and the trilogy’s sequel, “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time” (2024), are a vanity project. The approach is a middle-brow one, i.e. ‘serious’ enough not to be confused with overtly commercial productions, but not ambitious enough to impose itself.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro

TRIVIA:

• “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time”, made 30 years after “The Moromete Family“, is based on a screenplay inspired by the second volume of the novel, “Life as a Spoil” and Marin Preda’s publicist work.
• The director admitted that the difference in quality between the two volumes written by Marin Preda often troubled him, which is one of the reasons why the film was made so late. At the same time, he pondered over the reception of the second movie, given that the first one had already entered a cult-film zone.
• To solve the problem, Gulea merged the identity of the character Niculae with that of the writer Marin Preda, thus giving the youngest Moromete a chance and offering him a future as a writer, not as a party activist (as in the novel).
• Horațiu Mălăele grew up in the countryside, in an area not far from Moromete’s world.
• Iosif Paștina, the young actor who plays Niculae, auditioned for the role in parallel with the SAT. Stere Gulea says he chose him in particular for the naturalness and sincerity he showed in their conversations.
• Filming took place in Talpa in Teleorman county, just like the first movie in 1985. Stere Gulea said that he found the village largely deserted, which made an impression on him. However, he felt he had returned to a familiar place and the locals welcomed him with open arms.
• The production team worked for months to save Ilie Moromete’s house, which was on the verge of collapse. The entire set was designed by set designer Cristian Niculescu to show the atmosphere of a Romanian village in 1945.
• As a child, Stere Gulea lived the experiences that Preda recounts in the novel (and later in the movie). What’s more, his father was imprisoned at the time, and little Stere did not understand what was going on.
• The fact that the characters of Ilie (Victor Rebengiuc) and Catrina Moromete (Luminița Gheorghiu) were played by Horațiu Mălăele and Dana Dogaru in the second part of the movie, compared to the first, was no surprise to Stere Gulea, who expected such problems after so long. He said that the age difference, for example, between Victor Rebengiuc and the young Iosif Paștina (Niculae) would have been far too great to describe the father-son relationship.
• The change in cast presented a challenge that the director was happy to accept. At no point did he think of giving up on the movie.
• The decision to make the second part in black and white was a clear decision, bearing in mind that it is a sequel.
• The production costs were very high (being a period movie), which is why the team had to cut down on the filming time. While “The Moromete Family” was filmed in 3 months, “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time” took just 30 days.
• The director said the animal sequences (cows, horses) were the most problematic.

LINES:

• “Too much sleep is no good.” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “Have a drink, huh?” – Aristide (Georghe Mihaita)
• “A mayor without a stamp… it’s as if he wasn’t.” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “I spoke to the prefect yesterday and he told me he had to get Nae out, he’s a peasant.” – Aristide (Georghe Mihăiță)
• “Shut up, you fool!” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “I’ll be damned if I have to take seed from the state”” – Matei Dimir (Gheorghe Visu)
• “It’s ready (the new headquarters), but we don’t really have the right slogans.” – Ouăbei (Toma Cuzin)
• “Hey, Mr. Ilie! What are these committees?” – Mărioara Bâzdoveică (Dorina Chiriac)
• “It’s not like when you were doing politics at Iocan. And you didn’t give a shit about the others.” – Țugurlan (Florin Zamfirescu)
• “I’m not saying you shouldn’t talk to people your own age. But it depends what he wants to put into your head.” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “What they want, this Lenin, is impossible.” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “I’ve heard that you and Catrina have been together for twenty years.” – Fica (Oana Pellea)
• “The way you have taken is not good. (…) Against our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Catrina (Dana Dogaru)
• “I understood that it’s good in the colony, that everyone is equal, not like us. (…) If there are beans, everyone eats beans.” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “Go and pay your quotas and stop making a fuss!” – Vasile al Moașei (Andi Vasluianu)
• “You are breaking the law. You’re cheating.” – Niculae (Iosif Paștina)
• “I’m going to the mountains, because I’ve got a free ticket from the Union. And I’ll get well.” – Paraschiv (Paul Ipate)
• “Are you listening to Moromete’s nonsense?” – Vasile al Moașei (Andi Vasluianu)
• “Wouldn’t it have been better to be a school teacher?” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “The house is mine. I give it to whoever I want.” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “The paper says willingly. Of my own free will I can’t.” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)
• “They confiscate horses, cows, farm machinery and other goods for non-payment of taxes.” – Vasile al Moașei (Andi Vasluianu)
• “The trouble is not that you’re taking my cattle from my field. But what do you want… is it going well?” – Ilie Moromete (Horațiu Mălăele)

ARTICLES:

• Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time. A movie by Stere Gulea – malaele.ro
• Stere Gulea: The “Moromete Family” trilogy gives me a feeling of fulfilled duty – filmsinframe.com
• Stere Gulea, director: “I was very sorry to return to the universe of Ilie Moromete” – adevărul.ro
• “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time ” – Stere Gulea’s “cherry orchard” – yorick.ro
• The “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time ” phenomenon. The revelation that a black-and-white Romanian movie brings – digi24.ro
• Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time. Stere Gulea: Only the fool has no fears – dcnews.ro
• Moromeții, un film simbol pentru semenii noștri. “Gulea with or without his will committed a masterpiece” – stirileprotv.ro
• “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time ” directed by Stere Gulea – the most awaited movie of the year – agerpres.ro
• Why “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time” is being filmed in the wilderness of Teleorman and not in Siliștea Gumești. A 19-year-old acting student, director Stere Gulea’s grand prize – adevarul.ro
• Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time, the biggest Romanian box office hit in 25 years – rri.ro
• ‘Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time’ wins eight trophies at Gopo Awards 2019 – forbes.ro
• “Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time” carries the heavy legacy of the classic more than 30 years ago. A classic whose fame, however, also contributes to the huge interest aroused by this new movie by the team formed by Stere Gulea, director, and Vivi Drăgan Vasile, cinematographer – ziarulmetropolis.ro
• Moromete Family: On the Edge of Time. A movie about the time when “people became smaller” – historia.ro
• Victor Rebengiuc on Horațiu Mălăele in Moromeții 2: I have every confidence in Horațiu, nothing stands in his way, he’s the best – hotnews.ro
• “Moromete Family 1 & 2” – the movies – ziarulmetropolis.ro

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