Stille Hochzeit - Zum Teufel mit Stalin

Tonight, 1st of May 2009, I have been invited to the Ratiu Foundation's Film Festival in London to see the film. Reviews from Romania came as a poor film, with a simple matter not well directed. I have to say that I've had the best cinematic experience in years. Malaele's film is truly a masterpiece, in directing actors as well as in his choice of cutting and music and everything that anyone would want to see. If some voices call it a copy of Kusturica's films I gotta say that is 10 times better, because on top of a colorful cast he also has acting, drama, tragedy, and comedy at the top of his sarcastic lungs. Malaele is a master in film that needs to be praised, and he needs nothing more of my words. All he needs now is his recognition that I as a Romanian director would give him with all my heart: I wish I could do a film like that!

There will be others, I hope- since Malaele did such a good job with this first film of his.

The movie tells more than it just shows, even if the story is just a little bit loose in places. The essence permeates just fine and the strong symbolism it uses (like in the wedding silent feast or the silly mute comedy scenes), all the thick strokes still leave room for subtleties and interpretation.

It naturally flows from the savorous comedy bucolical scenes towards the dark drama at the end. It may very well be regarded as a critique of the Romanian capacity to adapt, our viral submissiveness that can make us just go with the wave, instead of reacting and fighting back. The amenability slowly mutates into fear and corruption. As a matter of fact, didn't we all leave with the circus? We let it control our lives and dictate the rules, we just accepted the yoke and the satire stopped doing the magic trick at some point.

Dead and buried, but the communism still wanders around. There are still uprooted people for which the absence is a state of being. People like the quiet mourners, who cannot meet today's society and it's new coutumes without the presence of the dis consideration depicted in the final scene.

The script is full of good ideas and intentions, all in all about half-fulfilled: the story-line is somewhat linear, and lacking many of the important joints of a well articulated scenario - but, on the positive side, it's entertaining and rich in content, able to combine into a well balanced recipe the tragedy and comedy.

To my extremely agreeable surprise, Horatiu proved himself a true director. All his hesitations and uncertainties are of the "inherent to a debut" type - and remarkably few in number. Definitely, he shows a good critical sense, trimming away many of the script's faults, or even speculatively converting them into positive qualities. Further, he has a powerful visual sense, and a solid capacity of synthesis.

One has commented about the movie's "theatralism" - it deliberately departs realism, by recourse to many stylish exaggerations, significant and expressive as such, but of an unlikelihood bordering impossibility. So it is, but this seeming failure remained only one step away of being converted into what it actually purported to be: a daring mean of expression, in the best vein of elaborated style. It would have been enough to insist a bit more on the present-day mayor's narrative about the depicted happenings, stressing the fact that everything is seen through the distorting lens of one's own affective memory.

Still, it's undeniable that Horatiu creates a world of its own, bringing it to focus with extreme expressiveness... It's hard to forget the tasteful beauty of the erotic scenes - topped by the splendid image of Meda Victor being literally "drowned in wheat" by Alex Potocean's thrusts. And the top-scene, the "Mute Wedding" itself, arrives to be a successful tour de force. Definitely, it's a movie to be seen - and savored with relish.

The easiest way to tell if a movie is good or bad is to look at the comments and see how many people really understand the message; for this movie very few people did, which confirms the fact that we are indeed dealing with a very artistic and highly complex film. It was painful to read all the garbage written by some reviewers before me, and it appears very clearly that they understand very little the spirit of the 1950s as it was superbly encapsulated by this film. A lesson of history and less brainwash by contemporary politically correctness will certainly help understand this movie properly. It is not about a wedding, it is not about a village wiped out, or about communists, it is about historical destiny and humanity. Those who have seen beyond the comedy understand what I mean by that. The rest of you should really stick to shallow movies, because anything beyond that will confuse you unnecessarily.

For me this movie was of a great impact. I left the cinema and have not been able to say a word for more than 15 minutes. I was fascinated. It gave me a deep, profound feeling of genuine art, with incredible complex features gathered together in these 90 minutes of displayed images. A lot of meaning - I am sure for non-Romanians has not the same amount of meaning - and an authentic way of touching the most sensitive parts of the Romanian people, with humor on the most critical aspects of the most absurd time, the communist time of Romania. Malaiele is a great artist, but this film is his masterpiece. I highly recommend you to watch this movie. It is not just a movie, it is a lifetime experience.