CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (ENDLESS)

1999, during the Kosovo War: a NATO train carrying military equipment, accompanied by American soldiers, is to cross Romania. The government has given verbal approval, but there are no customs papers. That is enough for Doiaru, the stationmaster of a village in the hinterland, to stop the train – out of principle, out of an old score with the state, and because he holds sway in the village anyway. For days the Americans are stuck while the mayor throws a party for the guests and the village’s young women, including Doiaru’s daughter, sense their chance. Cristian Nemescu tells, in “California Dreamin’ (Endless)” (Romania 2007), the story of an actual incident, turning it into a panorama of Romanian provincial life caught between defiance, longing and business sense.

Nemescu died in August 2006 at the age of 27, before editing was complete. The studio decided to cut the film using all the material available – hence its length of 155 minutes and the addition “Endless”. At Cannes, the film won the top prize of the Un Certain Regard section in 2007. It was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2007.

Shown at the 2007 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2007 · Film Archive