Cristian Mungiu received the prize for the best director, for his film Bacalaureat. The movie approaches a social topic and conveys a moral critique. The main theme that it denounces and demolishes is the one according to which parents live through their children and the latter have to do better where the former failed. The film explores the conflicts and pressures that come out of such a belief.
Peter Bradshaw of The Chronicle speaks very highly of Mungiu’s film and gives it five stars. He says that it is complex and full of psychological subtlety. He also says that Adrian Titieni’s and Maria Drăguş’s performances were splendid and that the film was a jewel in this year’s Cannes competition.
The film Dogs by Cristian Mirică received the prize in the section Un Certain Regard. The film is about a young man living in the city, called Roman, who inherits 550 hectares of land from his grandfather. His decision to sell this land leads him to a forgotten village in Dobrogea, where Roman witnesses a series of strange occurrences. Cristian Mirică defines his movie as a “moral and emotional labyrinth” that ensues from a conflict with a fellow human being.
The Un Certain Regard section is part of the official selection of Cannes, but takes place in parallel with the official contest. It was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob who was President of the festival at the time. This section includes movies that have different styles and visions and are in search of international recognition.
Two other movies that were awarded this year were Romanian co-productions. One was Toni Erdmann, a German-Austrian-Romanian production directed by Maren Ade and the other, Album by Mehmet Can Mertoğlu, a Turkish-French-Romanian production that won the prize Revelation France 4.
Sources:
http://www.digi24.ro/Stiri/Digi24/Actualitate/Cultura/PREMII+CANNES+2016
Andra Mihaela Cimpean
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