16/08/2013 - Romanian drama Roxanne explores the consequences of the country's troubled past

A new voice of Romanian cinema, Valentin Hotea explores how the communist past still haunts today’s life in his first feature Roxanne [+see also:
trailer
film profile], included in Locarno's Cineasti del presente competition. A HiFilm project produced by Ada Solomon (Child's Pose [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Calin Peter Netzer
film profile]), the film establishes Serban Pavlu (photo) as the leading actor of the new decade.

One night in 1989, before the Revolution, a high-school student calls Radio Free Europe to dedicate Sting's song Roxanne to his sweetheart, Roxana. It's an illegal thing to do in communist Romania and the student, Tavi, is arrested by the State Police after being ratted out by an informer. 20 years later, Tavi (Pavlu) checks his State Police file and is surprised to learn that he might have a son with Roxana, the girl from whom he separated shortly after his sad contact with the feared communist authorities.

Now in his late 30s, Tavi is overwhelmed by the possibility of being a father. The thought is continuously nagging him, so he must find out the truth. But will Roxana (Diana Dumbrava), now married with a well-to-do doctor, Sandu (Mihai Calin), and mother of three, share her secrets from the past?

The premise is more than interesting, especially in a national cinema that has so long refused to explore the effects of communism on the every day life in the present. Tavi's drama is compelling and his intentions are more than honourable: he doesn't want to destroy a family's happiness, he just wants to know the truth. After being kept in the dark for decades, the truth becomes an obsession, even if knowing it would mean a more complicated life for Tavi.

With a screenplay written by Hotea together with Ileana Muntean, Roxanne is always evolving, from a family to a police drama and then it turns again into a coming of age adventure for Tavi. Financial problems, a sick mother (Valeria Seciu), a morose girlfriend (Corina Moise), a new-found irresponsible son (newcomer Anghel Damian), all topped by his State Police file, it's almost too much on Tavi's plate, but the protagonist never loses his temper, trying to make the best out of what is happening.

Unfortunately what the director succeeds in building during the first two thirds of the film crumbles down during the final act. The screenplay delves into a predictable trap regarding the identity of the State Police informer, a mistake that would have been so easily avoided. The final confrontation seems staged and exaggerated, an impression stressed even more by the low-key performances throughout the film: it's like the director asked the actors to whisper and then suddenly to shout.

It's a good thing Roxanne gives Serban Pavlu a new chance to impress. After Radu Jude's Everybody in Our Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Radu Jude
film profile], Roxanne is the second feature in which Pavlu plays the main part. He will be seen again this year in Tudor Cristian Jurgiu's first feature The Japanese Dog, announced in San Sebastian's New Directors competition. Diana Dumbravă returns to Locarno a decade after winning the Bronze Leopard for Best Actress for Calin Peter Netzer's first feature, Maria. As for Anghel Damian, he may be a reason for new directors to focus on a generation almost completely disregarded by the Romanian cinema.

Produced by HiFilm and co-produced by Abis Studio and Hungary's Cor Leonis, Roxanne is internationally represented by Films Boutique. The domestic release is scheduled for October 11.