REVIEWS

Overwelming international critical acclaim...here are some extracts.

Sight & Sound

"What we have is alive to nuance and detail, thrilling in its looselimbed buoyancy, thanks in part to restless, darting handheld camerawork, and evinces a total engagement with every corner of the film's broad canvas.

Above all it's often just very funny, then sad, and finally tragic - Nemescu it seems could handle it all, and had he lived, there's no doubt he had an outstanding career in front of him. What a terrible loss [the director died while he was in the process of editing the film, see below]."

The Telegraph

"This isn't just an excellent satire about crossed cultural wires, but a parable, at length, about America's blundering exit strategy. Doiaru is a tinpot tyrant, hated by almost everyone, and his overtures of hospitality to Jones routinely end in petty insults. (...)

It's also hilarious in its strangeness, supremely well-controlled in its long, roving, observational takes, and comes to a shocking climax. Depressing place though it may well be, Romania's claim to be producing some of the best films in the world just keeps getting stronger."

The Guardian

"The film is a lugubrious culture-clash burlesque in the manner of Emir Kusturica or the works of the Czech new wave.(...)

It's a safe bet that the 28-year-old Nemescu would have trimmed and tightened California Dreamin'. He would have smoothed out its occasional tonal uncertainties and better delineated its eventual shift from humour to tragedy. As it is, we are left with a brilliant might-have-been; a soulful comedy of miscommunication that spotlights Romania's torrid past while pointing towards a brighter tomorrow. "

New York Times

"California Dreamin’ ” is a rambunctious, closely observed comedy of cultural collision, its satirical gaze aimed at Romania’s foibles and also at the sometimes lethal absurdities of geopolitics."

Washington Post

"One of the best films about how America is perceived abroad ever made."

PRIZES

Internationally acclaimed, the film was selected in the most prestigious festivals, including the Cannes Film festival.

Winner of numerous awards....

Prix Un certain regard - at the very prestigious International Cannes Film Festival (2007)
Satyajit Ray Award - London Film Festival (2007)
Golden Iris - Brussels European Film Festival (2007)
Special Jury Prize  - Molodist International Film Festival (2007)

THE DIRECTOR

As the Sight and Sound reviewer explains, here is the pretty sad story behind the film:

"The latest release in what's now dubbed the Romanian new wave trails a dire backstory: director Cristian Nemescu perished in a car crash, along with his sound editor Andrei Toncu, when California Dreamin' (Endless) was deep in post-production in August 2006. The film's producer Andreí Boncea decided to release the film as it stood ('endless' in the title should really read 'unfinished')."

THE STORY

A very important convoy of NATO troops and equipment travelling to Kosovo by train is stopped at the Romanian border by a bureaucrat for ridiculous administrative reasons. The film then follows the American soldiers and the people of this tiny village and looks at how they enter in contact with each other.

WHY WE ARE PROGRAMMING THIS FILM

The reason why I programmed this film could probably be summed up in a few words - I saw it in France and I loved it.

In France, it got an excellent critical acclaim, and that's why i went to see it - I was not actually particularly inspired by the story of the film, or by the fact that it was from Romania. I just went because of the reviews.

But then, I was really quite amazed by this film. I was just really surprised about how honest (if that makes any sense) and true it sounded - it is a funny film, with great ironic humour, but it is also very human and I loved the way it depicted human relationships.

By "honest" I just mean that despite the film being humourous, it never felt "exaggerated" or like forced humour. It just rang true and I just thought it was extremely clever. It showed there was a very mature and witty eye behind the camera.

I also, I have to say, totally fell in love with these characters - the director obviously makes fun at most of them, but in a very tender and touching way, and I thought that was great.

This film is part of what has been decsribed as the "Romanian New Wave" - all this young talent that suddenly seems to be developping there. 12:08 East of Bucharest is part of this movement, and I know that it got very good reviews and that it might  be more famous than California Dreamin'.

But I found that California Dreamin' had the same qualities as 12:08 - mainly a very disillusioned humour with little charatcers that are quite self-centered and bit ridiculous - but that it also had loads more. For me this film talks about life, youth, desire and hope in a beautiful way. I thought that it was quite incredible that on the top of being a political satire that touched subjects such as geopolitics, socialism, American troops and bureaucracy, it also managed to talk about human relationships and feelings in a very subtle way.

I guess that was what I liked the most. I just find that there are many films that are very dark and cynical about politics - this is nothing new, and not even original (sorry). But a film that can be ironic without being dark, funny without being forced, and human without being over emotional - all at once - I just thout that was pretty rare.

Also, California Dreamin' was shown in France for weeks, even in small cities, but in Newcastle, it was shown for 2 days - and I just thought that was really heartbreaking! I felt so sad for this film amd I thought that it really deserved more chances to be seen.

Tonight is one more chance - on a big screen and on a beautiful 35mm print.

The little programmer