Cuibul de viespi

A simply perfect film ! A masterpiece ! The type of film you can see over and over again without getting tired !

'Nest of Wasps', the film version of Alexandru Kiritescu's play is one of the greatest Romanian comedies which displays the the entire human typology of the beginning of the 20th century in Romania. The cast is absolutely great, some of the greatest Romanian actors manage to recreate the charm of the superficial life during those days.

The wasps are three sisters that are trying to relive their youth and although they are unkind, rude, selfish and superstitious, achieve their goal- they present the funny side of death. The film is a verbal and visual satire of the middle class (the bourgeoisie) in a time when Bucharest was known as 'The Little Paris from the East".

a show of shadows . reflection of the last decade of Romanian Communism. adaptation, in grotesque manner, of a beautiful play.a satire who use with obstinacy dark nuances, clichés and a mixture of kitsch and uninspired artistic option. result - terrible. the script is a too heavy chain for each actor. the try of Tamara Buciuceanu Botez to save appearances falls. Ovidiu Iuliu Moldovan is prisoner of a character who seems be only a sketch. the use of tricks from another films about Romania at the beginning of the XX century are bad options. for Romanian public of 1986 ," Cuibul de viespi "was an useful mirror of absurd every day reality. for today, it is a road of melted asphalt. the only successful work - wise acting of Gheorghe Dinică looking transform his character in key of the profound senses of original play.

one film from my childhood. part of last years of a gray era. presence of great actors in an adaptation of well known play. a comedy with a virtue - escape from propaganda machine. an old wold as medicine for crazy time. tale in which bitter nuances, dark masks, superficiality, slices of cruelty and obsession about appearances are parts of an exercise to create a nice period but , in same measure, to suffocate every temptation to idealize it. result - a story without depth, an empty building , important only for its columns, a Mannerist artistic tomb, who try expose anatomy of a tragedy but becomes refuge for needs of public expectations. in 80's it was a nice movie. now it is testimony for game of hide between director and censor. and good occasion to remember names of Romanian cinema masters.

'Cuibul de viespi' - the Romanian for 'Nest of Wasps' - should be considered in the background of the time when it was made. 1986 - the production year - was part of one of the darkest times in the history of Romania, and the darkness of the final years of the Ceausescu era had spread over artistic creation. Film making was a well controlled enterprise at the time, very much under the control of the propaganda machine of the Communist party. One of the passive forms of protest was making such movies as 'Cuibul...' - re-creating the era between the two world wars, the only time before 1990 that Romania enjoyed a relative period of democracy. The absence of any political message is the message.

Unfortunately, 'Cuibul...' is not a good movie. Adapted from a neo-classical play, it fails to re-create the emotional power of the tragic love story, and lacks completely any story-telling skills. What remains is the talent of some of the greatest Romanian comedy actors, but I doubt that their humor crosses too much the borders for the non-Romanian viewer. The final scene of the party in the graveyard, near the family dead is really good, but unfortunately it is just one sign of the great film 'Cuibul' could have been.

6/10 on my personal scale. Recommended only for the Romanian viewers, for the pleasure of seeing some of the great actors they (we) love.