The other day I had an old wish come true. To see scalea 2021 film directed, co-produced and co-written by Vlad Peunescu.

Why did I watch the movie so late? For two important reasons.

First, there is talk again of the disastrous distribution of nationally produced films, an operation that has remained solely in the hands of cinema owners who are not really interested in importing and promoting Romanian films. And that’s because they can always demonstrate with numbers and accounting documents that their forecast, with a few notable exceptions, is completely unprofitable.

Second, because I don’t know how it’s done, but I missed every broadcast of the movie on HBO or similar.

It didn’t matter that even now, when it was finally time to fulfill my oldest wish, I was on the verge of giving up for a while. The reason for this is poor sound quality, an outdated and eternal shortcoming of domestic films. But in the end, according to the chronicler, overcome the thought

But why I really wanted to see Scale?

First, because I knew that the film recreated the life story of a great Romanian actor. Dragos Paslaru. Who was absolutely extraordinary not only in the role of Alyosha Karamazov in the play, the story of which he recreates with deviations from reality and chronology, otherwise justified by the idea of ​​the film (the premiere of the play directed by Dan Miku took place in 1981, not later). revolution), not only in Horiya Sima z Hiking along the wolf trailthe film of Konstantin Vayeni (a role from which many were taken, and these many are carefully described by the director, Oana Busa, the make-up artist, the cameraman, Alexandru Sterian, and the exceptional performance of the very young actor Eduard Trifa), as well as in The fourth season. Probably the last production of both theaters before the revolution Nottara and also the same Dan Miku. The play is also based on a play by Horia Lovinescu (at the time of writing Karamazov he collaborated with Dan Miku), in which Dragos Paslaru perfectly interpreted Mihai Roitan. And although so many years have passed since the moment in question, the sequence in which Dragos Paslaru conducted is still extremely vivid in my memory Carmina Burana. Thus the hero, the profiteer in the act of August 23, the man who also knew when and how to jump from one boat to another, showed his joy of victory. About the victory of lies and deception. This sequence had a foreboding value up to a certain point because, as the events after December 1989 and Dragos Paslaru’s life itself showed, it was also possible to make a profit this time.

Second, I wanted to see the movie because scale reproduces what is called life in the theater as true as possible. Or, better to say, life in the Romanian theater of the last communist decade. With censorship, with self-financing, with a fee that is paid only half, with awards that are handed out with the approval of all sorts of ideological commissars. In them, it is easy to recognize Horia Lovinescu with all his dramas (the playwright was faithfully portrayed by Ioan-Andrei Ionescu), the deputy Maxim Krishan (played wonderfully by Horatio Melele), Dan Mik (the role entrusted to the director Dragoš Galgociu, successfully performed by him). , even if from this point on Little Dan’s life story is no longer the same as Big Dan’s) and, last but not least the huge George Constantine was played absolutely exceptionally by Valentin Teodosiu.

In the grammar of the film, a set of quotations is inserted from what was completely authentic, as well as from the point of view of the time and history of the Romanian theater, the show from Karamazov. Another opportunity to see how inspired the director was, entrusting the main role to Edouard Trifi. Which, as in scalewas brought to the great Bucharest theater (Odeum) of the same Dragos Galgotiu.

They appear in scale some of the former members of the series Karamazov. The already mentioned Horatio Melele, who then created the unforgettable Smerdeakov, and Valentin Teodosiu, who played Svidrigailov, were joined by Ioana Krecunescu, completely unrecognizable in Muca (in Karamazov played by Kateryna Ivanovna), or Adriana Moka, formerly Fata. I also point out the presence on the poster and the artistic jewels created by Constantin Codrescu as Father Necula, who, as a teacher and director, also gave the stage version of Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece to George Miheica and Dorel in Tirgu Mures Dreamy. This is probably Dari Novachan’s alter ego. From the unchanged cast, we also left Ana Maria Guran, who played Andea, the main character’s wife, Tom Cousin, Nikodim Ungurianu, Magda Katone, Bohdan Kotlec, Ozana Oanche and Katalin Babliuk.

And last but not least, I wanted to see scale for actor Eduard Trifa. Whose evolution I have followed as much as I could in the theater and who, in my opinion, is one of the best actors of his generation. He has in mind, in my opinion, a strong argument in emphasizing and imposing the idea that we have no reason to worry, that the future of Romanian theater is in safe hands. And Eduard Trifa turned out to be a very good movie actor here.

I said that the film scale does not respect the historical truth regarding the dating of the play Karamazov. The premiere of the film takes place after the revolution, after the University Square and after Dragos Paslaru suffered the wrath of the miners and the terrible criminal manipulations of Ion Iliescu and his clique. Read the full article and comment on Contributors.ro