The February film at the Romanian Cinematheque is the magnificent and emotional The Swords Swallower by Alexa Visarion, well known for his impressive career as a theatre director.
The cast include some of the best and celebrated Romanian actors: Mircea Albulescu, Leopoldina Balanuta, George Constantin, Stefan Iordache, Mitica Popescu, and Victor Rebengiuc, among others.
A former circus artist earns his living by touring with a sensational act of "sword swallowing" through towns and villages.
Having taken inspiration from Alexander Sahia's short novels „Death Of The Sword Swallower" and „The Revolt In The Harbour", and from Gheorghe Brăescu's „Here Come The General And His Wife", the plot follows the intertwined stories of three tragic characters for whom there is no present or future, whose only sanctuary is the past.
One of them is a blind war veteran who, even though he gets invited to all the events going on in his town, nobody ever really minds what he has to say. Yet, he stubbornly goes on playing patriotic songs on his harmonica. The other two characters are Valentin, a trapeze, and Michel, a sword swallower. Both former circus artists, they travel from one fun fair to another, trying to make a living out of their performance. However, they always end up disregarded by the public and humiliated by authorities. The viewer is immersed into a conflict between life and death, succes and agony.
Romania | 1981 | 102min | directed by: Alexa Visarion | with: Mircea Albulescu, George Constantin, Leopoldina Bălănuţă, Tamara Buciuceanu-Botez. In Romanian with English subtitles.
The Romanian Cinematheque is a project in partnership with the National Centre for Cinematography in Romania (CNC).
When: Thursday 21 February 2013, 7pmWhere: Romanian Cultural Institute LondonAdmission is free but seats are limited. Early booking is well recommended. Please reserve your seats at T: 020 7752 0134, E: office@icr-london.co.uk.
