Rumania's entry in the 1958 Cannes Film Festival was the excessively melodramatic Ciulinii Bărăganului. The title translates as Fools of Bărăgan, in reference to a band of beleaguered feudal Rumanian peasants. But these are no fools: instead, they are fearless freedom fighters, organizing a...
In this undistinguished drama, Darclee (Silvia Popovici) is a lead singer for an opera company in Romania with a heavy load of responsibility. It seems the company is in dire need of a decent physical structure for their performances and a brace -- or more -- of good singers to improve their image...
Ciulei’s second feature recalls the best of Fritz Lang and Michael Curtiz in its WWII-era espionage tale, set on a barge transporting Nazi munitions up the Danube. Ciulei himself givers a superb performance as Mihai, the barge captain forced to navigate the heavily mined waters along with his new...
