A breath of fresh air has floated through Cannes

Even the "oldies" are impressed by Cristian Mungius's triumph in Cannes! For years there has been bitter rivalry in the Romanian film scene between a new generation of filmmakers who, like Mungiu, deal with the legacy of communism and an older generation that produces government-funded historical films that bear a marked resemblance with the propaganda films of the past. Cristian Teodorescu was therefore understandably surprised to see the old guard applauding their younger colleague at Cannes. "'This is a great success for the Romanian film industry' comment persons who only a few hours before the award-giving ceremony didn't think Cristian Mungiu had a chance of even winning the award for best director - because he's Romanian... I have no idea what's got into the old director Sergiu Nicolaescu, who all of a sudden is heaping praise on his young colleague. Only recently he said not one of the directors of the new generation was worth a bean. ... The filmmaker Mungiu is of little consequence in the alchemy of our patriotic arrogance. For the older generation only yesterday's opinions count. As far as they're concerned it was the Romanian film industry - or in other words them, the old luminaries - that won at Cannes."

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