By Olivia Maria Hărşan
Paul Negoescu is a young and talented newcomer with a lot on his plate. Apart from directing a series of shorts, Negoescu has also written and produced the majority of his work. I first became familiar with the director when I saw his film, Acasa/ Home (2007), a 14 minute account detailing a conversation between a taxi driver and his client as he drives him home. They discuss politics regarding the European Union, traffic conditions in Bucharest and the expansion of Romanian beggars in Madrid. The passenger is a constructions engineer who works predominantly abroad and looks forward to returning home during festivities while the taxi driver has dreams of migrating out of Romania to a better life. Without getting too carried away and comparing it to Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth (1991), I have to say there were some similarities in the way that the characters seem to connect on some level (I am referring mainly to the vignettes Los Angeles and Helsinki). It is like that amazing conversation you had with a complete stranger on the train, only to part ways without exchanging contact details. Negoescu presents this feeling of knowing someone without really knowing them and it is executed with warmth against the backdrop of Bucharest, a city with stained with a cold recent history.
The online film journal Eastern European Film Bulletin (EEFB) provides more information on the director including an engaging interview conducted by Konstanty
Eastern European cinema is a diverse subject that has been scarcely regarded, especially compared to other world cinemas. From screen analysis to personal accounts, this blog is a meditation on Eastern European cultural values with emphasis on totalitarian iconography and other clandestine ciphers that have become motifs across the films of Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and East Germany.