The Romanian Cultural Institute in London launches a new project: the Romanian Cinematheque - a year-round programme that brings the best Romanian films to London, from iconic Hollywood director Jean Negulesco and the mid '60s cinema-verité master Lucian Pintilie to the 'new wave' of award-winning directors Cristi Puiu, Corneliu Porumboiu and Cristian Mungiu amongst others.
Insightful and inclusive, the programme traces back today's spectacular leap onto front-page and red carpets to the time when Romanian directors made astonishing film well-beyond the constraints of a repressive system.
If you are passionate about film, join us for the most exciting journey - the Romanian Cinematheque, monthly, at the Romanian Cultural Institute.
Wednesday 17 March, 7pm
Introduced by Time Out film critic Dave Calhoun
A retired engineer shares his dour Bucharest apartment with three cats. One night he becomes ill and calls an ambulance. No hospital, however, is willing to accept him, and as the night wears on, his condition gets worse. This seemingly bleak scenario, awarded Un Certain Regard at the 2005 Festival de Cannes, depicts a universal theme - death and hospitals - with humanity and dark humor.
The terrible, meditative power of Puiu's film is that while we, the viewer, are all-knowing from the off, Mr Lazarescu himself knows nothing of his impending fate. He dies, delirious and muttering about his family, headaches and painkillers, in the company not even of strangers but alone on a hospital trolley, naked and his head shaved ready for surgery. No hails of bullets, weepy farewells, hysterical resuscitation efforts or soppy flashbacks for Puiu; this is death as cinema rarely does it - credibly. Dave Calhoun
Inspired by real events, its appeal is the clever way it involves the viewer emotionally, keeping him breathless in a race against the clock. Alex Leo Serban
April - July Programme
Thu 15 April, 7.00pm:
Thu 27 May, 7.00pm:
Tue 15 June, 7.00pm:
Tue 13 July, 7.00pm:
Click here for the full programme.
Romanian Cinematheque is a partnership project with the National Centre for Cinematography in Romania (CNC).
All films have English subtitles.
When: 17 March 2010, 7.00 pm; Where: Romanian Cultural Institute London. Free entrance. To attend please email office@icr-london.co.uk or call 0207 752 0134. Early booking recommended.