Why Are the Bells Ringing, Mitica?

Based on a theatrical text by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912), who was a bitter and funny witness of the turn-of-the-20th-century Romanian bourgeois mores, Carnival Scenes manages to preserve and further enhance the slightly hysteric atmosphere of his plays. Pintilie creates a strange combination of carnival scenes which is brought to the screen as a burlesque, fast-paced, screwball comedy with a meditative undertone. This film was banned in Romania for a decade until the death of Ceausescu in 1989 and was only released after the 1989 revolution.

Director: Lucian Pintilie

Cast: Victor Rebengiuc, Mariana Mihuț, Tora Vasilescu, Gheorghe Dinică, Petre Gheorghiu, Mircea Diaconu, Ştefan Iordache, Florin Zamfirescu

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.