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Soldiers: Story from Ferentari

Original title: Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari
  • 20172017
  • 1h 59m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
684
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • IMDbPro
Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari (2017)
Drama

Adi (40), a shy and introverted anthropologist, who got recently dumped by his girlfriend, moves to Ferentari, the poorest and most notorious neighborhood of Bucharest. He wants to write a s... Read allAdi (40), a shy and introverted anthropologist, who got recently dumped by his girlfriend, moves to Ferentari, the poorest and most notorious neighborhood of Bucharest. He wants to write a study on manele music, the 'pop music' of the Roma community. Manele music serves as a way ... Read allAdi (40), a shy and introverted anthropologist, who got recently dumped by his girlfriend, moves to Ferentari, the poorest and most notorious neighborhood of Bucharest. He wants to write a study on manele music, the 'pop music' of the Roma community. Manele music serves as a way out of poverty for some successful musicians, but more often it's just another opportunity... Read all

IMDb RATING
6.3/10
684
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ivana Mladenovic
  • Writers
    • Ivana Mladenovic
    • Adrian Schiop
  • Stars
    • Dan Bursuc
    • Sorin Cocis
    • Cezar Grumazescu
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ivana Mladenovic
  • Writers
    • Ivana Mladenovic
    • Adrian Schiop
  • Stars
    • Dan Bursuc
    • Sorin Cocis
    • Cezar Grumazescu
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 5User reviews
    • 18Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 8 nominations

    Photos11

    Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari (2017)
    Sorin Cocis, Adrian Schiop, and Vasile Pavel in Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari (2017)
    Adrian Schiop and Vasile Pavel in Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari (2017)
    Press Conference for ”Soldiers. Story from Ferentari”
    ”Soldiers. Story from Ferentari” team at San Sebastian Film Festival
    ”Soldiers. Srory from Ferentari” crew at San Sebastian Film Festival
    on set filming Soldiers. Story from Ferentari
    on set for Soldiers. Story from Ferentary
    The team of the film ”Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari” at San Sebastian Film Festival
    On set filming Soldatii. Poveste din Ferentari with director Ivana Mladenovic

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dan Bursuc
    • The Manageras The Manager
    Sorin Cocis
    • The Policemanas The Policeman
    Cezar Grumazescu
    • Vasias Vasi
    Kana Hashimoto
    • Brigitteas Brigitte
    Stefan Iancu
    Stefan Iancu
    • Andreias Andrei
    Nicolae Marin
    • Borcanas Borcan
    Vasile Pavel
    • Albertoas Alberto
    Adrian Schiop
    • Adias Adi
    • Director
      • Ivana Mladenovic
    • Writers
      • Ivana Mladenovic
      • Adrian Schiop
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Adi (40), a shy and introverted anthropologist, who got recently dumped by his girlfriend, moves to Ferentari, the poorest and most notorious neighborhood of Bucharest. He wants to write a study on manele music, the 'pop music' of the Roma community. Manele music serves as a way out of poverty for some successful musicians, but more often it's just another opportunity for the mafia pimps to make money off their acts and keep them in slave-like dependency. While researching this subject, Adi meets Alberto, a Roma ex-convict and a bear of a man, who promises Adi to help him. Soon enough, the unlikely pair begins a playful romance in which Adi feeds Alberto with improbable plans of escaping poverty, while Alberto feeds Adi with phrases of love. Little by little, their casual affair grows into love. And the funny and sweet teasing turns into something precarious, since Alberto is both dangerous and fragile and belongs to a world whose codes Adi doesn't understand.
    romani peopleromaniromaanthropologistanthropology22 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • A modern "Romeo & Juliet" set in the Roma community on the outskirts of Bucharest.
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Connections
      Features Procession of Memories (1973)

    User reviews5

    Review
    Top review
    2/10
    This is a bad movie, but not for the reasons you might think
    One thing I believe director Ivana Mladenovic understands but failed to implement is that movies like this one need to have a grander purpose than just presenting a leftist agenda. It's all about progress. A change has to happen. Unfortunately, about halfway in, I realized that might not be true in this case, and by the end I got my confirmation.

    "Soldatii: Poveste din Ferentari" is about a culture understood only by Eastern Europeans. Our gypsy society who thrives on Bohemia is an oasis of artistic potential, archaic values, mythology, hopelessness and--why not--hope. But here, Mladenovic fails to hit the mark every single time. It all starts with Adi (Adrian Schiop). A PHd student who moves to a place in Ferentari, Bucharest's own Compton, after he was dumped by his girlfriend. Here, he attempts to study the local gypsy population's musical invention: "manele". First, he goes to local manele mogul and producer Dan Bursuc (he is playing himself). Adi is a bit insecure and deft, and Bursuc immediately sees through him. He claims: "why didn't you come in a more fashionable manner so that you will earn my respect". This scene is the deepest Mladenovic ever got to true insight, showcasing Bursuc's cultural philosophy of aesthetic presentation, something that gypsies value not only as status, but also as worthiness, care and discipline.

    As the movie continues, Adi befriends and eventually falls in love with a gypsy at a local bar. Alberto (Vasile Pavel) is a scene-stealer everytime he shows up. Pavel is, in fact, not a trained actor but a bodyguard of actual gypsy origins and he perfectly flows in the role of a gypsy underdog with a checkered past. He claimed in an interview: "I did some improvisations... some things would just come out... I did 90% of what the director asked". His performance truly outshines Schiop's which was a bit to stiff and unremarkable. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion.

    The central controversy of this move came from its love interests. I don't know if Mladenovic crumbled under pressure or if the actors were simply not apt enough, but the relationship between the two felt stale. And it had potential. Adi was an insecure, inapt man and Alberto spent 14 years in prison where he engaged in various sexual acts of which he confides to his lover. Both are emotionally fragile, yet there is no progress or chemistry between the two. Sometimes I wonder if Mladenovic wanted nothing more than to stir controversy. I hope not, because in that case, this is worse than I initially thought. It would mean this movie's lack of a centralized idea, something to wrap this whole thing up would be intentional.

    It didn't took long before I realized just what is the point of all this? Not soon enough, a friend of mine I was watching the movie with, noticed the same thing. A few silent, boring minutes later, he began spewing potential ideas. "Perhaps its about how to appreciate the things you have?" Sure, if you think about the opportunity Adi gave to Alberto and he blew it. "Or perhaps about the inability to change?" Again, sure, if you look how, by the end, Alberto was still unchanged by his experience. These are all true, but they do not encompass the whole movie. At best, they are an exercise in observation, and at worst they are wishful thinking in an all too bleak and stale picture.

    At least it was filmed on location and locals were acting to the camera: "Film me!" the children screamed.
    helpful•2
    4
    • andrewburgereviews
    • Sep 16, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 2, 2018 (Romania)
    • Countries of origin
      • Romania
      • Serbia
      • Belgium
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Language
      • Romanian
    • Also known as
      • Soldiers. Story from Ferentari
    • Filming locations
      • Ferentari, Bucharest, Romania
    • Production companies
      • Film House Bas Celik
      • Frakas Productions
      • HI Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $23,057
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 59 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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