One independent film aims to show a new side of the Romanian film industry thanks to a cosmopolitan team of European talent both in front of and behind the camera. The project in question is a drama, years in the making, that centers on an aging man as he looks back on definitive moments of his life while considering how his choices have brought him to his present standing. It features Italian cinematographerBlasco Giurato(Cinema Paradiso), Romanian-French composerVladimir Cosma(The Dinner Game), a Romanian director inSerge Ioan Celebidachiwho’s making his Romanian feature debut, and some of Romania’s most famous actors,Marcel Iures(Layer Cake),Andi Vasluianu(Of Snails and Men) andVictor Rebengiuc(Medal of Honor). It’s name, like that of the protagonist, isOctave.
While visiting the film’s production in Bucharest, I was able to join an equally worldly team of journalists in exploringOctaveand discovering what made this film something special. Since our visit was a wide-ranging tour ofOctave’screative team, the story behinds its story, and a look at the practical side of the filmmaking process, I’ll be breaking down our journey of discovery into its relevant parts in order to better appreciate the whole.
The Story: A Lifetime in the Making
The story ofOctaveis difficult to pin down. Broadly, it asks questions about nostalgia, aging, and reflecting on one’s choices in life, while it more specifically concerns the last stage of life for the film’s title character, his dealings with remnants of Communist rule, and his memories of a childhood in 1930s Bucharest. It’s both worldly in how relatable it aims to be and yet uniquely Romanian. ProducerAdela Vrinceanu Celebidachidescribed the film’s international appeal:
It will represent Romania in a better light, that’s one; second, it has great casting, a great cinematographer, it has a great director, a great music composer, it has big names. I think it’s part of a new wave, hopefully, of Romanian cinema that will show Romania in a positive light abroad. I think, also, everybody would like to see a beautiful Romania.
And yet, the story wasn’t always meant to be set in Romania. In fact,Octavehas gone through many iterations and drafts from co-writersSerge Ioan CelebidachiandJames Olivier. As director Celebidachi stated:
For me, it’s a story about life; the Romanian aspect came much later. We wrote it in French 30 years ago, if it’s possible.
Olivier and Celebidachi started writing the film when they were 18 or 19 years old. Their idea was to explore the transition from one stage of life to the next one, and to revisit a lost youth. As they matured, so did the story. Celebidachi particularly thinks of his late older father—he was 56 when he had Serge—as a model for Octave. His own upbringing inspired this story:
Everybody gets older and you suddenly realize that that childhood is somewhere, gone, your innocence is gone with it. It’s that contrast, when you’re at the end of your life and you sort of balance everything. It’s a privilege to have access to those memories, but in this case, it’s a way of playing with the consciousness of an older man and understanding or reinterpreting what you did as a child, and solving things that you didn’t understand from your parents’ point of view or all kinds of things. In this case, there is a love story, a platonic love story in the film. I do believe it’s universal in that respect: age, nostalgia, childhood, it’s all those themes.
Various iterations of the script over the years saw the story translated to English, then possibly located in America, but nothing seemed to click until the idea to set it and produce it in Romania was suggested by Adela. The history of Romania and its time under Communist rule allowed an opportunity for the title character to have a concrete reason to be away from his family home for so long since, in the story, the structure had been claimed as a residence for Communist leaders.
However,Octavewill not make Communism a focus of its storytelling as it has been prevalent throughout much of Romanian cinema. There are hints of it here and there, as in Octave’s dealing with the ownership of his family home; those moments are derived from Celebidachi’s own dealings with the government on behalf of his family. He opted for a different storytelling approach:
We’re just presenting a film that has this opportunity to show a different Romania, like Adela said, and we’re happy to provide that … It’s a challenge, but a beautiful one.
This different side of Romania will be brought to the screen in transitions back to Octave’s distant memories to 1932, a period between World Wars when Bucharest was nicknamed “Little Paris” thanks in part to the city’s elegant architecture and social elite. There is some ambiguity as to how exactly Octave makes this journey into mind and memory, but audiences will be brought along for the ride. As Celebidachi said, doing so is a beautiful challenge, butOctave’screw and cast are up to the task.
The Crew: Rising Talent and Proven Experience
Octavewas scripted with the idea of giving the film an impressionistic feel, represented by different visual and musical cues as the protagonist is transported to various times and places in his memory. Like most great ideas, they sound good on paper but are difficult to bring to life on screen.Octavehas assembled some of European cinema’s most experienced talents with that particular challenge in mind. What better person to start with than BAFTA-nominated cinematographerBlasco Giurato:
For me this film is a miracle, because since I’ve read it, I’ve totally fallen in love with this project. This film is telling a story that concerns the whole world: the oppressive bureaucracy, the human rights struggle, and all this is told with a great sense of storytelling. The other miracle for me was to meet such a great director. In my long experience, I can now feel when a film is important. This film is an important one for sure, and for Romania, more important. The effort and the build-up to this film was unique because it enabled me to be able to realize what I imagined. I would love to take this whole cast, crew and team with me.
The discovery of Romania was a great one because it’s one of the countries I didn’t know in this part of Europe. It’s been a great experience, the visual impact was prepared in detail with Serge, who has this dark side, but one that will explode into a blooming spring. In this ambience, miracles can happen; this film is one.
The respect among veterans and professionals in this production is palpable, and the way in which they work—with almost half a dozen different languages flying around at any given time—was an absolute sight to see. To truly get a sense of how well-oiled this multifaceted filmmaking machine moved along, the director himself gave us this insight:
There was a hope that whatever we bring on screen is transcending any of the simple vision I had at the beginning to attempt to serve the story, and so far … whether it’s come from Marcel, whether it’s come from Blasco, we have a bouncing of ideas off each other, and I’m finding myself finding a new shot or a new idea or a new move, or because a problem arises, you adapt and suddenly it’s twice as good as the original shot that was conceived. I’m very thankful for having the input of people who are bringing their own world to the story. The unexpected is that it’s even better than I could have dreamt of, so I’m extremely thrilled with what I’m seeing. The potential is limitless in terms of serving the story.
Blasco, who turned down two American film opportunities to work onOctave(as did Marcel Iures), clearly has a beautifully descriptive and dramatic way with words, even though his Italian was translated for us during the interview. What’s easily understandable, however, is his praise for the film and the filmmakers:
It’s a film that took me back to the best movies I’ve ever made. I’ve rediscovered my importance in a movie. Because in the past, you do it with passion, with love, but never in such a close relationship with a director, so it’s taken me back to the great movies I’ve made with great directors from the past. It’s like going back to work at the great cinema I had the chance to experience. I want it to end my career. This will be my last film. It’s my goodbye, it’s my destiny. But this film, I’ve become a young man of 24, more or less. … He’s ruined me for any other future project.
While it remains to be seen whether or not this is actually Giurato’s last film, what’s clear is that it’s a passion project for all involved. The filmmaking team has put their time, effort, and energy into it, because it’s a film that gives back to them in turn. As producer Celebidachi put it:
It takes strength to look into yourself. I would define this movie as “food for the soul.”
Much like the strength required by the selected crew to makeOctavethe best film it can be, the veteran cast was assembled with the same necessary resolve in mind.
The Cast: An Ingénue among Veterans
Leading the cast ofOctaveboth on-camera and on set is Marcel Iures, who calls this point in his career and the role of Octave “not a summation of his experience, but the beginning of a new way.”
It’s a part of me, or me next, next year, next decade. It’s a part of you, it’s a part of everybody. That’s the way it is. I remember me trying to figure out what’s going on when I’m dying; that was 20 years ago when I was 45. That’s the way I’m crossing right now. I had a brief feeling that I had a biography of this character, but it could be his father, it could be my father, it could be your father, it could be anyone.
It’s absolutely peculiar in the Romanian film visage; I’ve never read anything like it in the last 25 years. It’s a huge challenge, tonally. I have to rediscover me in this kind of way, which is absolutely new for me.
Iures, who was 64 during filming, endured two hours of age make-up each day in order to transform him into the octagenarian Octave. Much like the protagonist ofCharles Dickens'“A Christmas Carol”, Octave is transported back in time to various pivotal moments in his life: horrible tragedies, childhood romances, and formative decisions alike. While Romanian acting veteransAndi VasluianuandVictor Rebengiucalso star opposite Iures, the greatest on-screen contrast can be found between the 80-year-old title character and his childhood sweetheart, Ana, played by newcomerAlessia Tofan. Ana serves as an emotional anchor-point in Octave’s past, a platonic ideal that represents everything that was good and pure and innocent in his youth. It’s this unexpected meeting with a long-lost love that ultimately affects Octave’s outlook during the later stages of his life.
AsOctavewraps filming and prepares to enter the post-production process, it’s toward the horizon that the creative team on both sides of the camera look now.Octaveis primed to surprise international audiences and, if the stars align, will do so by showcasing a new, beautiful side of Romanian filmmaking.
The Studio: A New Vision for Romanian Films
No matter how ambitious your film project, you can’t get very far without a professional film studio. Enter: Bucharest Film Studios, the largest and most advanced film studio in Romania. Producing movies since 1955, Bucharest Film Studios acts as the home base forOctave, which includes a beautifully constructed interior of Octave’s familial home on one of their 19 stages.
Bucharest Film Studios is also home to production for international and domestic films, TV productions, commercials and music videos. It features some truly massive stages, like the 4,300m2Stage 8, a dual-use twin stage complete with indoor water tank, the largest film production water tank in continental Europe. Other water tanks on the studios' property have been used for scenes in such films asTerry Gilliam’sThe Zero Theorem,Roar Uthaug’sThe Wave,Bruce Hunt’sThe Cave, andDavid L. Cunningham’sThe Seeker: The Dark Is Rising.
Other productions at Bucharest Film Studios includeGunpowder, Treason, and Plot,Sons of Liberty, andSex Traffic, though the company is aiming to develop and enhance their services and reputation even more going forward. They’re hoping thatOctave’ssuccess goes a long way toward creating positive reception and expectations for Romanian films and the country’s filmmaking industry overall.
