21 rubies, the latest film written and directed by Cyprian Mega, shot almost entirely in Oradea. Where Mr. Mega is a priest and there are rumors that he is not on the best of terms with his superior, Sophroni Drincec.

So it should not be surprising that the film in some places resembles an advertising film of this type Visit Oradea (the film was created with the generous support of the District Council, so the city’s achievements of its president, until yesterday’s mayor, had to be glorified, even in the brackets of the famous probably theorized by Aristotle), what we see in the first series of Mihai Morar, a favorite of the local authorities, whom he promotes, of course, for a reward, with good deeds, nor that one of the heroes indulges beyond the limits of worldly pleasures, in long-lasting pleasures with a large number food and drink it’s called – you guessed it! – Sophronia.

Some time ago, when the filming ended, the local press joined their voices and efforts to inform the locals that Mickey Rourke, Anthony Delon and Elizabeth Pellini could also be seen in town. Actors once with a certain weight. The former stars in the film as a quirky high-ranking official from the United States, an atypical Secretary of State in fact (please admit that Henry Kissinger’s time has passed!), who has come to unravel, despite his incongruous attire. with the rules of diplomacy and all the aesthetic surgeries that the actor-boxer has undergone, the big problems facing the corruption-ridden Romanian democracy. The second correctly played the Russian-English-French director, for a long time the lover of the one who will later be appointed the general prosecutor of Romania, but who will not reach a high position due to the same corruption. She does a very good job as Corina Moise, an actress I’ve known and appreciated since her days in director Victor-Ioan Frunze’s wonderful productions. Finally, Elizabeth Pellini plays the representative of the European Union, her name is Delalakiessa (no allusion, I hope, to the wonderful actor Valero Dellaciessa, who also plays a very good role here, a priest with a legionnaire past, but good in life, Alexi Cosmas), good a girl, but with flaws, because – what do you see? – she dreams of forbidden relationships, against nature, exactly the ones she would like to promote.

The regular cast includes many Romanian actors, in addition to Corina Moise and Valera Dellacesa, commendable Dorel Vişan, Magda Catone, Ovidiu Crisan, Costel Cascaval, Lucian Ifrim, Sandu Mihai Gruia, Nikodim Ungurianu, newcomer Constantin Dinulescu, Christian Iorga, Victor Vurteianu , Viorel Race. Oradean Sherban Borda is probably still a little theatrical, unrecognizable as the Patriarch (which is good, the actor and make-up artists deserve credit), George Dometi, also from the Theater, has a great appearance queen maria from Oradea, passing through Răzvan Vicoveanu. The teenager Michnea Moldovyanu, who was entrusted with the role of the young candidate for the priesthood and future suicide George, is very good (at the time of filming). Almost all of them managed on their own, with apparently very little help from director or cinematographer Liviu Margidan. Which seemed to insist on showing us in detail, in an overabundance of close-ups, the many facelifts that not only Mickey Rourke, but also Loredana Groza underwent. The soloist has an extended moment in which he repeats a large part of his repertoire. A sequence that relegates the film to the realm of secondary entertainment. As it also happens in other sequences, as it allows us to understand onomastics. A corrupt ataman, for example, is called Desaga.

Corruption and its exposure are the main theme and stake of the film. Widespread corruption. It is located at the level of dignitaries of the Romanian state, at the level of leaders and leaders, that is, central, county and local national entities. In the bodies of justice and the prosecutor’s office. In church circles, from the priest and the dean to the bishops and the Patriarch. The latter did not want the appointment of a young prosecutor, who over time turned out to be kind to the bishops. Et pour cause. She is George’s older sister. Which after the broken story of admission to the theological seminary Bishop Caesarius, after losing a watch with 21 rubies and learning that his mother has cancer, he ends his days.

The big problem with the script, and implicitly with the movie, is that you have a hard time figuring out the relationships between the characters. Neither the script nor the direction clearly spell out the time periods in which the action takes place. It does not separate them. He hesitantly shuffles them. The story of 21 rubies it begins somewhere in the late 90s, when the historic visit of Pope John Paul II was being prepared, when it was expected Eclipse and when Romania’s decision to stand up to Slobodan Milosevic’s regime caused astonishment and controversy, and ends in 2020-2021.

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