The New Year That Never Came
The New Year That Never Came | |
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Romanian | Anul Nou care n-a fost |
Directed by | Bogdan Mureșanu |
Written by | Bogdan Mureșanu |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography |
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Edited by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 138 minutes |
Country | Romania |
Language | Romanian |
The New Year That Never Came (Romanian: Anul Nou care n-a fost) is a 2024 Romanian historical tragicomedy film written and directed by Bogdan Mureșanu in his feature directorial debut. It stars Adrian Văncică , Nicoleta Hâncu, Iulian Postelnicu , Mihai Călin , Emilia Dobrin , and Andrei Miercure.
It premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 1 September 2024, where it won the Orizzonti Award for Best Film.[1] The film received a theatrical release in Romania on 24 September 2024.
Premise
[edit]Six lives converge on 20 December 1989 amid the unrest of the Romanian revolution.
Cast
[edit]- Adrian Văncică as Gelu
- Nicoleta Hâncu as Florina, an actress from the Nottara Theater
- Iulian Postelnicu as Ionuț Dincă, a Securitate officer
- Mihai Călin as Ștefan Silvestru, a TVR director
- Emilia Dobrin as Margareta Dincă, Ionuț's mother
- Andrei Miercure as Laurențiu Silvestru, Ștefan and Alina's son, a student
- Ioana Flora as Mariana, Gelu's wife
- Ada Galeș as Camelia Dincă, Ionuț's wife
- Marian Râlea as Mihalcea, a TVR producer
- Gabriel Radu as Gabi, a TVR cameraman
- Manuela Hărăbor as Alina Silvestru, Ștefan's wife and Laurențiu's mother
- Ion Sapdaru as Comrade Vârtosu, the head of TVR
- Angel Popescu as Alex
- Vlad Ionuț Popescu as Vlad, Laurențiu's best friend
- Victoria Raileanu as Lili, an actress
- Elvira Deatcu as doamnă
- Gabriel Spahiu as Benghe, Florina's neighbor
- Vasile Muraru as Uncle Romică
- Theodor Șoptelea as Manu
- Sorin Cociș as Stamate
- Răzvan Vasilescu as the theater director
- Ilinca Hărnuț as the scenographer
- Luca Toma as Marius, Gelu and Mariana's son
- Mircea Andreescu as Uncle Chican
- Ioan Paraschiv as the investigator
- Doru Cătănescu as the postman
- Nicodim Ungureanu as the taxi driver
- Marius Damian as Uncle Jiji
- Marian Adochiței as Berlogea
- Dana Voicu as a pharmacist
- Afrodita Androne as the set secretary
- Virgil Aioanei as Gelu's coworker
- Vlad Jipa as Comrade Marcel
Production
[edit]The film expands on characters from director Bogdan Mureșanu's 2018 short film, The Christmas Gift.[2] Regarding the feature film's conception, Mureșanu stated, "I was interested in the humanity of small lives exposed to great historical events and how they deal with the feeling of a disappearing world."[3]
Principal photography took place in and around Bucharest. Filming also took place in Gostinu, a commune roughly an hour outside of Bucharest.[4] Cinematographer Biró Boróka utilized the Arri Alexa Mini for filming.[5] Filming was completed by 28 September 2023.[6]
Release
[edit]The trailer was released on 28 August 2024.[7] The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 1 September 2024 as part of the Orizzonti competition.[8][9] The following day, Memento Distribution acquired the French distribution rights to the film.[10]
The film received a theatrical release in Romania on 24 September 2024.[11] On its opening weekend, it topped the Romanian box office with over 20,000 admissions.[12]
Reception
[edit]Ștefan Dobroiu of Cineuropa wrote, "...The New Year That Never Came is a powerful example of how cinema can become a time machine that teleports us to a certain era, bringing us back to safety just as the issues of that period seep into our very soul."[13] Wendy Ide of Screen Daily wrote, "There's a lot going on, and initially, the film coasts a little, before gradually picking up momentum. But a near 20-minute final sequence, set to Ravel's Bolero, builds to an explosive crescendo, seamlessly blending archive footage into the action and capturing the exhilarating impact of history in the making."[14]
Accolades
[edit]Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Venice Film Festival | 7 September 2024 | Orizzonti Award for Best Film | The New Year That Never Came | Won | [15] |
References
[edit]- ^ Wiseman, Andreas; Tartaglione, Nancy (7 September 2024). "Venice Winners: Pedro Almodóvar's 'The Room Next Door' Wins The Golden Lion; Also Wins For Nicole Kidman, Brady Corbet, 'I'm Still Here' & More". Deadline. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ Popa Buluc, Magdalena (30 August 2024). "S-a lansat trailerul filmului ANUL NOU CARE N-A FOST! Cu: Adrian Văncică, Nicoleta Hâncu, Iulian Postelnicu, Emilia Dobrin, Andrei Miercure și Mihai Călin". Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Tănăsescu, Alexandra (1 September 2024). "Filmul "Anul Nou care n-a fost", regizat de Bogdan Mureșanu, a avut azi premiera la Veneția". Cultura la dubă (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ Andrei, Ileana (30 August 2024). "Bogdan Mureșanu: România este țara în care olimpicii la înot nu au bazine, iar cineaștii nu au săli de cinema". IQads (in Romanian). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Shachat, Sarah; Peikert, Mark (1 September 2024). "Venice 2024: How 41 Cinematographers Shot Their Festival Films". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ Dobroiu, Ștefan (28 September 2023). "Bogdan Mureșanu picture-locks his first feature, The New Year That Never Came". Cineuropa. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Balaga, Marta (28 August 2024). "In 'The New Year That Never Came' Bogdan Muresanu Urges People to Remember Ugliness of Ceausescu's Regime – and to Check Santa's CV (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Aricò, Giacomo (2 August 2024). "Festival di Venezia 2024, si comincia: il programma con film, date e le star più attese". Vogue Italia (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Chiriac, Adriana (31 August 2024). "Festivalul Internațional de Film de la Veneția. "Anul Nou care n-a fost / The New Year That Never Came" are premiera mondială pe 1 septembrie". Radio Impuls (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (2 September 2024). "Memento Distribution Nabs Venice Horizons Title 'The New Year That Never Came' for France (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Șchiopu, Ana-Maria (28 July 2024). ""Anul Nou care n-a fost", lungmetrajul de debut al lui Bogdan Mureșanu, va avea premiera mondială la Festivalul de la Veneția". Adevărul (in Romanian). Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Dobroiu, Ştefan (3 October 2024). "The New Year That Never Came tops the Romanian box office". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ Dobroiu, Ștefan (2 September 2024). "Review: The New Year That Never Came". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Ide, Wendy (2 September 2024). "'The New Year That Never Came': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ Ford, Lily (7 September 2024). "Venice Film Festival Awards: Pedro Almodóvar Wins Golden Lion for 'The Room Next Door'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 7 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
External links
[edit]- 2024 films
- 2020s historical comedy-drama films
- 2020s Romanian-language films
- 2024 comedy-drama films
- 2024 directorial debut films
- Cultural depictions of Nicolae Ceaușescu
- Films about communism
- Films about revolutions
- Films set in 1989
- Films set in Bucharest
- Films set in Romania
- Films shot in Bucharest
- Films shot in Romania
- Romanian comedy-drama films
- Romanian historical comedy films
- Romanian historical drama films
- Tragicomedy films
- Works about the Romanian revolution