Sieranevada (2016)

Centers around a family gathering on the anniversary of a patriarch's recent death.

Director:

Cristi Puiu

Writer:

Cristi Puiu

Stars:

Mara Elena Andrei, Mirela Apostu, Eugenia Bosânceanu

21 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mara Elena Andrei	...	Irina
Mirela Apostu	...	Doamna insarcinata
Eugenia Bosânceanu	...	Vecina in varsta
Ana Branescu	...	Andreea
Mimi Branescu	...	Lary
Ilona Brezoianu	...	Cami
Ana Ciontea	...	Tanti Ofelia
Ioana Craciunescu	...	Doamna Popescu
Valer Dellakeza	...	Preotul
Aristita Diamandi	...	Vecina
Dana Dogaru	...	Doamna Mirica
Bogdan Dumitrache	...	Relu
Simona Ghita	...	Simona
Marin Grigore	...	Sebi
Tatiana Iekel	...	Tanti Evelina

Storyline

Three days after the terrorist attack on the offices of Parisian weekly Charlie Hebdo and forty days after the death of his father, Lary, a doctor in his forties is about to spend the Saturday at a family gathering to commemorate the deceased. But the occasion does not go according to expectations. Forced to confront his fears and his past, to rethink the place he holds within the family, Lary finds himself constraint to tell his version of the truth.

---

Plot Keywords:

family gathering | doctor | romanian new wave | 911 conspiracy theory | reference to 9 11 | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

Romania France Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Republic of Macedonia

Language:

Romanian

Release Date:

3 August 2016 (France)

Also Known As:

Sierra-Nevada

Filming Locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,400,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$247,196

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandragora, Iadasarecasa, Studioul de Creatie Cinematografica al Ministerului Culturii

Technical Specs

Runtime:

173 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sieranevada (2016) was the 11th best film of 2016 according to the annual 'Sight & Sound' poll in which 163 critics and curators named their 5 top movies of the year.

---

Crazy Credits

Silvia Nastase is credited in the opening titles but not in the end credits.

---

Connections

References Mulan (1998)

---

Soundtracks

Down to the sea
Composed by Jack Tree, Jim Thrupp, Ross Kelly
Lo Editions / Universal Publishing Production Music

User Reviews

Not for everyone

There are two things you need to be willing to embrace before you watch this film. First, the film is not going to make the connections between the characters easy for you. If you are a lazy viewer who is not paying close attention to the dialogue or you do not grasp the connections between the various dramas that are played out, you might be frustrated with what superficially appears to be a lack of direction and feel the film is "pointless". Second, the film is EXTREMELY Eastern European in character. If you want a Hollywood ending you will not find it here.

However, I simply love films like this that propel you into a difficult family situation and spend most of the film time there, allowing you to try to figure out for yourself what's going on. "The Godfather" is one example; I was also a huge fan of Roman Polanski's "Carnage". For people who like that kind of thing this film is a huge treat. It is only at the very end, after the slightly odd car monologue by the main character, that you really feel satisfied with what the film has accomplished and that you have come to understand a subtle coherence within the mess of individual failed narratives. Every character in this film is a self-actualized, 21st century individual who has come up with their own personal story about how the world works. The film's plot makes that obvious, but the remaining questions are up to you: where are the lies? Where is the truth? What happens to the main character at the end? This is a rather beautiful puzzle to behold.