The Dreamers
Dan Chișu explores this mirage of getting rich overnight, which has claimed victims across several generations, thereby revealing society’s immaturity and vulnerability.
by Mihai Fulger
Filmmaker Dan Chișu made a spectacular debut on the big screen. Over the course of three years, three feature-length fiction films written and directed by him premiered: “WebSiteStory” (2010), “The Bear” (2011), and a first highlight of his filmography, “Chasing Rainbows” (2012).
Of these first three feature films, the last is also the most relevant to Romania’s post-socialist transition, during which, among other things, many movie theaters were converted into bingo halls. While the new businessmen were scrambling to pull off a big score that would ensure them a lavish lifestyle, workers and the unemployed dreamed of a bag of money falling into their laps, as a prize in one of the numerous games of chance or “mutual aid” schemes that had spread across the country, promising even the moon.
As the title of his film suggests, Dan Chișu explores this mirage of getting rich overnight, which has claimed victims across several generations, thereby revealing society’s immaturity and vulnerability. The director-screenwriter does this by skillfully alternating between two narrative strands, two seemingly disjointed worlds that ultimately intersect. Each has a well-developed protagonist, alongside whom a supporting character with a similar background — and who implicitly shares their goals — gains significance.
At the center of the story is the warehouse manager, impeccably portrayed by Adrian Titieni, who delivers one of the finest performances of his impressive career. After 20 years of responsibly managing a factory warehouse, the protagonist is laid off because management plans to computerize his work, and he knows nothing about computers. As a result, one of the first steps he takes after being laid off is to enroll in a course to learn basic digital skills (Dragoș Bucur makes a delightful cameo appearance as the instructor).
The difficulties older people face in adapting to new technologies have also been explored, with comedic effect, in other Romanian films, such as the short film “The Yellow Smiley Face” (Constantin Popescu, 2008) or the feature film “Hello... How Are You?” (Alexandru Maftei, 2011). However, Dan Chișu gradually shifts the tone, with the initial humor of the interactions with the computer giving way to drama (just as, in the background, what initially seems like a joke ends up revealing serious situations).
The storekeeper, who lives alone, has Buzilă by his side (Tudor Smoleanu’s authentic performance justifies the director’s confidence in entrusting him with an important role), a neighbor who is a painter. The latter — a simple man who nevertheless tries to maintain his dignity — is the only person who treats the protagonist with respect, and to whom he confides without reservation. When trouble strikes, the storekeeper drags the equally gullible Buzilă down with him.
The second narrative thread focuses on Marius (Ionuț Vișan, in his first leading role in a feature film, is also a perfect choice), nicknamed “the orphan” by his old friends (played by Cătălin Bordea and Mihai Niță, who bring vibrancy to the film’s opening). Young Marius lives with his mother (Oxana Moravec, an actress who is always on top of her game), who insists that he find a job, and he doesn’t know his father (about whom his mother refuses to speak). Marius has reason to believe the man’s name is Tocitu, which is why, when he enters a lottery at a club, he uses that name, without suspecting that he’ll win the grand prize but won’t be able to claim it because his legal name is Bratosin, not Tocitu.
In this secondary storyline, the supporting character is Cosmina (Anca Florescu, a former singer and bandmate of Nicoleta Luciu in the group Laguna, is convincing in her second notable feature film role, following her performance in “Something Good Out Of Life”, Dan Pița’s 2011 film). Cosmina, too, has an unhappy family history: her father does not acknowledge her as his daughter and is interested in becoming her pimp, and her mother, whose apartment is across the street from Marius’s (so he and his friends first see her through a peephole while she’s changing for her job as a promoter), has gone to work in the West (economic migration also appears frequently in Romanian productions, as in those of other post-socialist cinemas).
Cosmina is the one who enters Marius in the lottery, and so it falls to her to tell him that he has won a million euros. Fed up with her low-paying job, which forces her to put up with the rudeness of club patrons, Cosmina sees a chance to escape by convincing Marius to give her a share of his winnings. More practical than the protagonist, when she finds out that he had entered under a different name, Cosmina sets off with him across the country in search of a certain Mr. Tocitu, willing to claim the prize and split the money with the young couple.
Thus, the second narrative thread, which begins as a family drama and romance, transforms into a road movie featuring moments that are both intense — even painful (the scene with the couple played by Coca Bloos and Constantin Ghenescu) — and lighthearted, thanks to situational comedy (the appearance of set designer Mihai Dorobanțu).
Cosmina is pragmatic, but also sensitive. She doesn’t just want to secure her future; she also wants to help Marius find his father. After all, we all love happy endings (and reunited families). Marius, on the other hand, is more interested in finding out who his father is than in collecting his prize, but he doesn’t admit this to Cosmina — with whom he has quickly fallen in love — so as not to lose her. And she, after initially rejecting him, gradually changes her feelings toward him…
These are the film’s four main characters. They are complex characters, plagued by doubts and indecision; characters who do not blindly pursue a single goal, but evolve before the viewers’ eyes. They are authentic characters with whom the audience can easily empathize.
In terms of direction, in addition to his excellent guidance of the actors, Dan Chișu deserves credit for having conceived and portrayed — with the invaluable support of cinematographer Ovidiu Gyarmath and editor Andrei Iancu — the two narrative strands, or rather the two worlds of the characters, in a completely different way. The world of the technophobic elders is filmed in a static, descriptive style, with wider and longer shots, the filmmaker often opting for changes in framing rather than editing cuts. The approach is more theatrical, relying heavily on dialogue and its (subtle) humor. In contrast, the world of the tech-loving youth is filmed and edited much more dynamically (in keeping with the characters’ perpetual restlessness), with a handheld camera swiftly traversing the distances between characters and remaining constantly close to them, even resorting to subjective angles. A more tense treatment, in which atmosphere, spaces, facial expressions, and gestures play a prominent role. Thus, the generational divide corresponds to the gap between two modes of cinematic storytelling, and the film speaks not only of the illusion of wealth but also of the distinct ways in which we relate to existence.
It should also be noted that Dan Chișu, through DaKINO Production, produced the independent film — with the support of Giuliano Doman (Family Film) — and covered a significant portion of the production budget (estimated at a quarter of a million euros) out of his own pocket. When nearly the entire domestic film industry depends on CNC funding, such an independent producer, whose passion for cinema overshadows the pursuit of profit, deserves the utmost respect.
“Chasing Rainbows” was a true test of maturity, passed with flying colors by a largely self-taught filmmaker who has grown from one film to the next, becoming increasingly adept at mastering the language of his art.
Premiere of the week: Chasing Rainbows by Dan Chișu, Tuesday, May 26, at 9:30 p.m., on CINEPUB.RO
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