THE WORLD IS MINE (2015) – drama feature film

Director: Nicolae Constantin Tănase
Scriptwriters: Raluca Mănescu
Cast: Ana Maria Guran, Iulia Ciochină, Oana Rusu, Ana Vătămanu, Florin Hrițcu, Crina Mureșan, Mircea Rusu
Produced by: Tudor Giurgiu, Radu Stancu
Cinematography: Daniel Kosuth
Edited by: Ion Tănase
Sound: Tudor Petre
Music: Vlaicu Golcea
Year: 2015
Category: feature film
Genre: drama
Duration: 98 minutes
Subtitles: English

19,487 – Cinepub viewers

PLOT SUMMARY

Sixteen-year-old Larisa lives in a small town by the sea. Her relationship with her mother, who struggles with a lack of finances, is far from ideal, and in addition to that, the girl has to care for her helpless grandmother pretty much by herself. When Larisa falls in love with Florin, the local playboy, she acquires a powerful enemy in Anna, a girl from a wealthy family who is determined to get rid of her rival at all costs. The small-town world in which good looks and money play the leading role does not favor Larisa. However, the stubborn girl is ready to do whatever it takes to win love and admiration, and she resolutely pushes ahead to make her dreams come true….

Awards:

• 2015 – TIFF – Romanian Film Days Award for debut (Nicolae Constantin Tanase)
• 2015 – Karlovy Vary – Special Jury Mention at East of the West
• 2015 – Anonimul – Anonimul 12 Trophy
• 2015 – Cottbus – Cottbus Discovery Award
• 2015 – Indie – IPIFF – Debut Award
• 2016 – Gopo – Debut Directing Award. Young Hope Award (Ana Maria Guran)

Festivals:

• 2015 – Palic International European Film Festival, Serbia
• 2015 – Avvantura International Film Festival, Croatia
• 2015 – Namur International Francophone Film Festival, Namur, Belgium
• 2015 – Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia
• 2015 – CINEDAYS European Film Festival, Macedonia
• 2015 – Making Waves Festival, USA
• 2016 – Trieste International Film Festival, Italy
• 2016 – Luxembourg Film Festival
• 2016 – East End Film Festival, UK
• 2016 – Espoo Ciné International Film Festival, Finland

Critical reviews:

“His (Nicolae Constantin Tănase’s) youthful parade of stylistic muscularity (reminiscent of the late Cristian Nemescu) provides, by its implied tonicity, a kind of counterpoint to the main character’s abruptly downward trajectory from bad to bader.” – Andrei Gorzo, www.agenda.liternet.ro

“Larisa Fugaru, the heroine of Nicolae Constantin Tănase’s debut movie, ‘The World is Mine’, belongs to the family of rebellious characters, not without a cause, who in the late 80s could claim to be the heroine of Vasile Piciul’s Little Vera or, closer to our days, are following in the footsteps of the Dardenne brothers’ Rosette. Fragile little creatures, seemingly vulnerable, but propelled by the energy of their determination to resist the world that doesn’t really want to make room for them.” – Magda Mihăilescu

“Ana Maria Guran is a revelation; she subtly plays Larisa’s pendulum swings between insecurity and unwarranted arrogance – you fully feel the power of a character whose eyes misperceive almost every situation.” – Jay Weissberg, Variety

“In a Romanian cinematographic landscape mainly focused on subjects with a strong social and political touch, the film debut of the director Nicolae Constantin Tănase marks a different stage, a kind of new Romanian New Wave, in which the focus is no longer, for example, on the way we relate to the communist period or how we cope with the system’s post-decembrism avatars, but on aspects that do not necessarily carry a historical charge, but are just as vivid, powerful, painful.” – Silvia Dumitrache, filmsinframe.com

“One of the great achievements of Nicolae Constantin Tănase’s movie is the creation of a strong central female character, without making her an exponent of feminism.” – Silvia Dumitrache, filmsinframe.com

“The movie doesn’t seek gratuitous shock, it doesn’t grope for easy sensationalism.” – Lucian Maier, agenda.liternet.ro

“There’s almost no age-specific burden and obstacle that isn’t thrown in Larisa’s way, from beatings at the hands of her father to drugs to rape. A rather rudimentary and well-worn way of creating tension and pushing a story forward, running the risk of an adverse effect – alienating the viewer from the character.” – Ionuț Mareș, ziarulmetropolis.ro

“The story of ” The World is Mine” (2014, dir. Nicolae Constantin Tanase) is drawn from the lower class. The characters are tiny in relation to the social mechanism at the bottom of which they live their existence. But their fantasies are vivid, and the movie gives them credence and importance without a wince.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro

“A larger-than-life element placed in contrast with a powerful story precisely because it’s smaller-than-life. The effect obtained from the juxtaposition of the two is not one of compensation, but of complementarity. It’s a trademark that can be seen in Tănase’s next feature, ‘Head and Tails’ (2019), which is more radical but also less enjoyable.” – Emil Vasilache, cinepub.ro

”The first feature of Nicolae Constantin Tănase, The World Is Mine, is a miserable melodrama with an aggressive fatalism like a hammer into the head (Tănase is not yet 30 years old), but it’s far from being a gray film – it’s spectacular even eclectic.”  (Andrei Gorzo – www.liternet.ro)

Trivia:

• The film represents the feature film debut of both the director Nicolae Constantin Tanase (theater and film director) and the actresses Ana Maria Guran (Larisa, the protagonist), Oana Rusu (Aurora), Ana Vatamanu (Olimpia).
• The screenplay was rejected by the National Centre of Cinematography, but the team persevered and made the movie, with producer Tudor Giurgiu crediting the professionalism of the script.
• In front of the apartment block they chose as a set, the film team met the (non-professional) actress who plays Larisa’s teacher – also a teacher in real life at a high school in Constanta. She gladly accepted the director’s proposal to play the episodic role.
• The director says that the Ministry of Education forbade him to advertise the casting of the movie in schools in search of teenage actors.
• Filming took 20 days.
• Asked by Roxana Ursu for iqool.ro about the difficulties encountered during filming, the director replies: “Difficulties? Apart from the fact that some hard drives burned and we lost the footage we shot in two hard days, the floods, the director’s office and the dressing room, not much. We were forced to reshoot everything in half the time we had the first time. There were other little things like: the make-up spill, I mean Larisa’s bruise, or the weather and let’s not forget the traffic in Constanța.”

Lines:

“I dream I’m breaking my teeth and my mouth is full of blood. They break one by one, like this, one by one. Bang, bang. My mouth is full of blood and I choke on the teeth in my mouth. I try to spit, but I can’t.” – Larisa (Ana Maria Guran)

“I want you. (…) On Friday you’re going with me to Dani’s party.” – Florin (Florin Hrițcu)

“Are you playing dumb with me? Did you think I didn’t know?” – Ana (Iulia Ciochină)

“If you step on that party, I’ll break your face!” – Ana (Iulia Ciochină)

“Friends. For better or for worse.” – Larisa (Ana Maria Guran)

“It’s my money! I take care of her!” – Larisa (Ana Maria Guran)

“Your grandma dies and you fly out of this house. I’ll get rid of both of you.” – Larisa’s father (Mircea Rusu)

“It felt good. He took care of me. He was tender. He made the atmosphere, you know?” – Larisa (Ana Maria Guran)

“I look after you! You’re not my girls!” – Larisa (Ana Maria Guran)

“Larisa, you’re a disgrace! And your mom came to school today looking for you.” – Aurora (Oana Rusu)

“Larisa, you have serious problems.” – Aurora (Oana Rusu)

“Go home, Larisa. It’s not funny anymore.” – Olimpia (Ana Vatamanu)

“I don’t love you. (…) We fucked, it’s over. That’s it.” – Florin (Florin Hrițcu)

“It doesn’t matter that it hurts. It doesn’t matter if I drown. I’ll be fine.” – Larisa (Ana Maria Guran)

Media articles:

• The world is Mine, by Silvia Dumitrache – filmsinframe.com
• The World is Mine (Nicolae Constantin Tănase, 2015) – blogdefilm.ro
• The Graduates 2000: The World is Mine – agenda.liternet.ro
• To watch: The World is Mine – agenda.liternet.ro
• Nicolae Constantin Tanase, director of the movie “The World is Mine”: “We show bad girls making the worst choices.” The movie won international awards – adevarul.ro
• “The World is Mine”. Larisa’s life – ziarulmetropolis.ro
• About Nicolae Constantin Tănase, the director who shows you the world as it is – iqool.ro
• Nicolae Constantin Tănase: What cinema can’t do for the audience, that’s what I want to find in theater – yorick.ro
• Movie Review: The World is Mine – variety.com