The New Year That Never Came
Romanian drama in which the paths of six ordinary Romanians cross in the run-up to the fall of the communist regime. Winner of the Best Film prize in the Orrizonti section of the Venice Film Festival.
On 20 December 1989, Romania stood on the brink of revolution. The people’s uprising against the dictatorial rule of Nicolai Ceauşescu began in the city of Timisoara. Despite the army’s bloody crackdown – more than a thousand people were killed – the uprising was successful. Ceauşescu was deposed and executed on Christmas Day. This film follows six people in the capital, Bucharest, over the course of one day. While history is being made elsewhere in their country, they struggle with the difficult conditions under which they live. Among others, we follow a policeman, an actress who is asked to take part in a propagandist TV programme, a father whose son’s wish list includes the death of Uncle Nic – nickname for Ceauşescu – and a young man who wants to flee the country.
In line with other contemporary Romanian films, The New Year That Never Came adopts a realist style, with plenty of black humour. The handheld camera underlines the anxiety of the characters, who feel like they are being followed everywhere, always. The narrow 4:3 film ratio emphasises their oppressive conditions. Director Mureşanu clearly wants to remind his audience how bad things were back then. (jc)