| Mircea
Andreescu, Teo Corban, Ion Sapdaru , Cristina Ciofu, Mirela Cioaba,
Luminita Gheorghiu .
Gil-Scott Heron once wrote "the
revolution will not be televised," but one Romanian newsman
attempts to put his nation's revolution on the air after the fact
in this satiric comedy from writer and director Corneliu Porumboiu.
It's the sixteenth anniversary of the revolt that removed Communist
dictator Nicolae Ceausescu from power in Romania, and Jderescu (Ion
Sapdaru) is the host of a televised public affairs show who wants
to do a special program on the revolution. Jderescu's idea is to
bring on a handful of ordinary citizens to discuss their role in
Ceausescu's overthrow and how their lives have changed since Communist
rule was swept from Romania. However, Jderescu can only round up
two guests for his broadcast -- elderly Piscoci (Mircea Andreescu),
who's more interested in playing Santa Claus for the neighborhood
kids than talking politics, and Manescu (Teo Corban), a schoolteacher
nursing a brutal hangover. As Jderescu tries to lead a serious discussion
of how Romania has changed since Ceausescu was driven from power,
the conversation wanders off on a tangent about where the revolution
actually took place, and the waters become even more muddied when
Jderescu opens up the phone lines for questions from viewers, most
of whom have their own distinct (and strongly conflicting) memories
of the Revolution . . . and one of which has a bone to pick with
Manescu over some drunken insults he hurled the night before. A
Fost Sau n-a Fost? (aka 12:08 East of Bucharest) received its North
American premier at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. |