È pericoloso sporgersi

Nae Caranfil's first feature is an intriguing and often humorous story of three pre- revolutionary Romanians whose lives are revealed to be intertwined as the film progresses. Telling the romantic comedy/drama in three chapters ("The Student," "The Actor," "The Soldier"), Caranfil's talent for recognizing humor and humanity in even the most grim of circumstances - which is so prominent in his later works - is evident here as well. It is a shame this film has had such limited exposure in the west, as it would certainly appeal to audiences here.

Definitely, it's one of the best five Romanian movies ever made - together with "Forest of the Hanged", "Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days", "Death of Mr. Lazarescu" and "12:08 - East of Bucharest". Incidentally, I was the second unit director of this movie, first time when the production started, only to be failed by the totally incompetent (AND ill-meant) producer Mircea Daneliuc, so I'm private to many off-stage facts and details. The military unit scenes are inspired by the true events of our own army service (Nae Caranfil's and mine), that we served in Caracal. Corporal Puscasu is a real person, and Lt. Grecea is loosely inspired by our commander, Lt. Burlacu. The exterior scenes of the theater were shot next to the real Popular Theater in Caracal, where we used to watch shows as soldiers, in conditions 100% similar to the ones you see in the movie. But, leaving apart all these anecdotal details, fact is that "E Pericoloso Sporgersi" depicts as none else the true atmosphere and mood of the Eighties' Romania, the gloom in the final years of communism, the subtle feelings of terror and paranoia, the apparent lack of any horizons - and, first and foremost, the specific Romanian ability to take refuge into jokes and humor. By all means, the international distribution didn't do justice to this movie. It's peer to Forman, Menzel, Szabo, Italian Neorealism, La Nouvelle Vague Française, the Free Cinema, Nikita Mikhalkov, Kontchalovsky, Ryazanov, and many others,

This film is one of the best Romanian films I have ever seen. And i have seen it not once! It is a film with lot of suspense and sarcastic humor. The story is so real, mostly for those who have the experience of the era shown in the film. Life of the people before 1989 was exactly alike of the film characters' life: full with fears, uncertainties. For foreigners it may be a bit strange why people react in such a way to the events, but that was the reality. The idea to present the story in three different point of views is brilliant, as you understand the events only at the very end, when all versions of the events are presented.

I saw this film in 1993 at the San Francisco International Film Festival. It's a rare gem. It was entitled in english "Sundays On Leave". I have never heard of anyone else even seeing this film, as there were only 7 of us in the theater at the San Francisco screening. It's too bad films like this get lost and American and International audiences don't get exposed to them. I have searched through various sources to find a copy of this film in any format, without any luck.

The style to film is similar to Jim Jarmusch's "Night On Earth" (and equal in quality!) It does however, has a much more serious tone. If you should get the chance to see this film, by all means, do! If you know where to find a copy of this wonderful movie, please drop me an email.