Echoes of altman in a Romanian Setting

Bogdan Muresanu’s film, This New Year that has never happened, evokes a sense of Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, transplanting its multi-narrative structure to the tumultuous final days of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s regime in Romania. The film intricately weaves together the lives of seemingly disparate characters, each navigating the oppressive atmosphere of a society steeped in surveillance.

A Society Under Surveillance: Parallel Narratives of Resistance and Compliance

The narrative threads include a national television director scrambling to salvage a New Year’s propaganda program, a young man desperately seeking escape from the country, and an actress wrestling with the moral implications of participating in state-sponsored propaganda. These stories, brought together by the Bigarry gallery, highlight the pervasive threat of the regime, a constant presence felt throughout Romanian society.

Visual Style: Capturing Fleeting Emotions in a Climate of Fear

Muresanu employs a distinctive visual style, reminiscent of the ever-watchful eyes of the Securitate, the Romanian secret police. The film utilizes shoulder shots and rapid zooms to follow its numerous protagonists, creating a sense of unease and constant observation. This technique allows Muresanu to capture subtle, fleeting emotions, from the despair on the face of an elderly partisan evicted from her home to the bewildered expressions that provide moments of dark humor, akin to the style of The Office.

The Tragicomic Nature of Dictatorship

The film underscores the inherent tragicomedy of life under a dictatorship. While the regime’s oppression is palpable, moments of absurdity and dark humor emerge, highlighting the resilience and coping mechanisms of individuals living under constant pressure. This blend of tragedy and comedy offers a nuanced perspective on a complex historical period.

The dictatorship is, after all, a real tragicomedia, governed by…

Historical Context: Romania Under Ceaușescu

Understanding the film requires some context about Romania under Nicolae Ceaușescu. His rule, which lasted from 1965 to 1989, was characterized by extreme austerity measures, widespread surveillance, and a cult of personality. The Securitate was a powerful tool of repression, monitoring citizens and suppressing dissent.The events depicted in the film reflect the anxieties and struggles of romanians living under this oppressive regime. The Romanian Revolution of 1989, which led to Ceaușescu’s overthrow and execution, marked a pivotal moment in the country’s history.

Keywords

Keywords: Romanian cinema, Nicolae Ceaușescu, dictatorship, Securitate, propaganda, tragicomedy, Bogdan Muresanu, This New Year that has never happened, film review, historical drama.