Romania
2006 / CRISTIAN NEMESCU / 155 min.
romanian version with english subtitles
cast: ARMAND ASSANTE, RAZVAN VASILESCU, JAMIE ELMAN,
MARIA DINULESCU, IOAN SAPDARU, ANDI VASLUIANU
s i m u l t a n e o u s t r a n s l a t i o n i n t o C z e c h v i a h e a d p h o n e s
In May 1999, a NATO military train is heading across Romania for the Serbian border to install the
radars to monitor the Serb-Kosovan confl ict. The resolute and upright captain Jones comes up
against an invincible obstacle in the shape of the crafty and slightly mafia-esque railway chief
of a secluded train station, who has the transport shunted onto a siding. For the villagers, the
Americans’ stopover provides an opportunity to think of how to make the most of it. The detailed
exposé of the circumstances, where faithful psychological observations are cleverly combined
with ironic abbreviation, result an eloquent tragicomedy with incisive critical refl ection on both
the intimate and social level.
awards: IFF Cannes 2007: Un Certain Regard Award; IFF Molodist 2007: FIPRESCI Award, Special Jury Prize for best film