With five films to his credit since 1989, Mircea Daneliuc is by far the most prolific filmmaker in Romania today. Ceausescu's iron-fisted regime left him no alternative but to use allegories to describe the reality around him. Since the overthrow, however, Daneliuc has radically changed his view, reaching a degree of virulence which seems to have earned him more than a few enemies at home.

Senatorul Melcilor revolves around a senator who visits a forgotten village to open a new hydraulic power station. The senator, who expects to get some publicity out of his visit without too much effort, would rather the villagers stop expecting answers to their questions, particularly on the delicate issue of the gypsies who have settled next to the village. In the end, all the old enmities flare up again, and the visit turns into a total catastrophe.

Daneliuc's sense of humour is blacker than black. But while some of the critics wonder if this is the way they want their country portrayed, others rush to Daneliuc's defence, quoting Picasso's answer when attacked for painting Guernica the way he did. "I did not paint this," he answered, "the Germans did."

Edna Fainaru

Prod co: Alpha Films International

Dir/scr: Mircea Daneliuc

Ph: Doru Mitran, Petre Petrescu

Art dir: Petre Veniamin

Costumes: Andrea Hasnas

Mus: Petre Margineanu

Cast: Cecilia Barbora, Doru Visan, Florin Zamfirescu, Viorel Comanici

Running time: 104 mins

Int sales: Romania Film

Screening: 28 June, 20.00, Praha

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