floating in space (Film: Gravity – Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, 2013)

Almost every pre-Academy Awards season brings for me the big Hollywood movies disappointment. A big studios film, usually directed by famous or at least interesting directors, getting raving critical acceptance and breaking audiences records for the year or for the eternity. A few years back the name of the sensation was Avatar, last year there were two – Argo and  Lincoln. I go, I buy my popcorn, I sit down with the best intentions of enjoying it, and … flop. When I exit the cinema theater I ask myself ‘Is this all?’. ‘What is the fuzz about?’.

This year with Alfonso Cuaron‘s Gravity it’s even worse than in the past years.

 

source www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/

source www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/

 

Before you ask – yes, I have seen the 3D version in a well equipped cinema theater. I saw it in good visual and sound conditions and I was not enthusiastic at all about the cinematography and sound effects. I actually believe that cinematography was quite banal, and the few moments when some screwdrivers flew to our faces could not compensate for a film that takes place 80% in the open space – meaning open stellar space, and cannot provide even the National Geographic documentaries effects or emotions. The story is completely incredible from any point of view. If this is supposed to be science-fiction the science is completely flown, and the fiction non-credible. In other words, impossible on all grounds.

 

(video source Warner Bros. Pictures)

 

Neither can Sandra Bullock and George Clooney save this film. To their defense I should say that they are given a very clichee relationship to act. Clooney’s hero text actually provides some of the rare sources of emotion and fun in this film, but this is too little.

Alfonso Cuaron directed previously at least one science-fiction film I fell in love with – Children of Men. What a difference between the action-ridden and the human tension there and the routine stuff we get in Gravity. I can understand his attraction into making such a film, it’s a challenge for a director to film a story in either a small and confined environment or in the infinite space as here, and some of the greatest successes came from movies with theme like this. Unfortunately, he was not up to the challenge on almost any respect.

This will not prevent Gravity getting its plethora of awards, I am sure.

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Happy Birthday, Catcher!

The Catcher in the Sand is 4 years old! Yes, its birthday is on Christmas Day, a present for myself and for my friends with whom I share beautiful and interesting things that I read, see, hear, experience,  a present not only on one specific day of the year but for all the days of the year.

 

source www.storagesearch.com

source www.storagesearch.com

 

For the past year The Catcher got some serious competition from Facebook, whose improved timeline allows me to keep some of the memories of the things that happen in a way easy to record, with improved graphical capabilities, and almost as they happen, in real-time. Yet I continued to blog most of my books reading and films watching experiences, as well as some of the travel logs, theater and concert impressions. I will continue to do it in the next year, and years to come. Your comments, feedback, critics are always appreciated.

 

(video source jaymes hines)

 

One more present to honor the day and its significance for many of my friends. Ray Charles in concert celebrates A Gospel Christmas in 2003 together with the 120-member Voices of Jubilation Gospel Choir of Newark, New Jersey. This may be the only time Ray Charles performed traditional holiday music in a live concert.

 

Happy Birthday, Catcher in the Sand!

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O, ce veste minunata! (CD de colinde romanesti cu Angela Gheorghiu)

O bucurie in plus a acestui anotimp de sarbatori este aparitia la casa de discuri MediaPro Music a CD-ului cu colinde romanesti ‘O, ce veste minunata!’ al Angelei Gheorghiu. Este un eveniment muzical de prima importanta nu numai pentru diva noastra nationala ci si pentru genul foarte bine reprezentat in magazinele de muzica si cadouri de sezon din toata lumea al cantecelor de Craciun, eveniment care nu a trecut neobservat de criticii lumii, o cronica foarte favorabila aparand in cea mai prestigioasa revista a iubitorilor de muzica ‘Gramophone’ sub semnatura lui Jon Tolanski – http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/angela-gheorghiu-releases-album-of-romanian-christmas-carols. Este genul de cronica care poate asigura o lansare si o frunoasa cariera internationala a CD-ului. In Romania el deja a obtinut Discul de Aur la o luna dupa lansare, si un Concert Festiv de Craciun la Sala Radio, precum si transmisiile la Radio Romania ii pot numai spori popularitatea. Am avut sansa sa cumpar discul la Carturesti in vizita mea la Bucuresti de la sfarsitul lui noiembrie si sa mi-l adaug colectiei de muzica apropiata sufletului meu.

 

source activenews.ro

source activenews.ro

 

Inregistrarile au fost facute in septembrie 2013 in Sala Radio din Bucuresti si in Studioul ISV. Angela Gheorghiu este acompaniata de Orchestra Nationala Radio dirijata de Tiberiu Soare, de corul Madrigal (care a sarbatorit in acest an 50 de ani de activitate) si de Corul Accoustic. Aranjamentele muzicale ale cantecelor populare sau apartinand unor compozitori romani din diferite perioade apartin lui Dan Dediu, Cristian Lolea si Constantin Arvinte.

 

(audio source MediaProMusic)

 

(audio source MediaProMusic)

 

(audio source Gabriela Dragoi)

 

Buna dimineata cu Mos Ajun si Mos Craciun al lui Dimitrie G. Kiriac ne introduc in atmosfera de sarbatoare. Trei crai de la rasarit este primul din cele sase cantece traditionale repovestind in frumosul limbaj al satului romanesc povestea Bunei Vestiri. Urmeaza Leganelul lui Iisus (sau Florile Dalbe a lui Valentin Teodorian) si Inchinarea pastorilor (traditional) care dezvolta aceeasi tema. Steaua sus rasare si Oce veste minunata sunt slagare eterne din repertoriul de sezon al traditiei romanesti. Inca o versiune din Florile Dalbe, cea a lui Tiberiu Popovici incepe cu o frumoasa tema rapsodica imbinata cu sunet de clopot, este poate cea mai frumoasa orchestratie a discului. Nasterea Domnului (Minune prea mare) de Paul Constantinescu este cea mai lunga si mai complexa piesa de pe disc si totusi se incadreaza bine melodic cu ansamblul. La Vitleem colo-n jos (traditional dar cu o orchestratie sofisticata si interesanta) si scurta Colindita de Emil Montia incheie regalul intr-o atmosfera exuberanta si sarbatoreasca.

Despre calitatile vocale exceptionale ale Angelei Gheorghiu nu este nevoie sa scriu. Ceea ce vreau sa remarc este respectul si vibratia sincera cu care artista abordeaza repertoriul traditional. In niciun moment nu se simte diva, ceea ce auzim este o cantareata intr-o forma de zile mari care lucreaza in perfecta armonie cu o orchestra si cu corurile, si care adauga fiecaruia dintre cantece vibratie si sentiment. Cu acest CD traditia romaneasca are o sansa sa intre si sa o ocupe un loc de cinste alaturi de alte reusite ale genului, sa incalzeasca caminele nu numai ale romanilor ci si ale iubitorilor de muzica de sarbatoare din intreaga lume.

Succes si Sarbatori Fericite!

 

 

 

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The Wonderful Announciation (CD with carols from Romania with Angela Gheorghiu)

An extra joy in this holiday season is provided by the launching by the label MediaPro Music of a CD with Romanian carols ‘Oh, what wonderful news’ sung Angela Gheorghiu . It is a musical event of the first importance not only for the Romanian diva but also for the genre of the Christmas songs well represented in music stores and gifts stores from around the world. The event has not gone unnoticed by musical critics, and a very favorable chronic appeared in the prestigious journal of the music lovers ‘Gramophone’ under the signature of Jon Tolanski –http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/angela-gheorghiu-releases-album-of-romanian-christmas-carols. It’s the kind of chronic that can mean the start of a nice international career for the  CD. In Romania the already has already achieved Gold Record status just one month after launching, and a festive Christmas Concert Hall Radio and repeated broadcasts at Radio Romania can only enhance its popularity . I had the chance to buy the disc in a bookstore during my visit to Bucharest by the end of November and I added it to that section of my music collection that stands closest to my heart.

 

source activenews.ro

source activenews.ro

 

The recordings were made in September 2013 in the Radio Hall in Bucharest and at the ISV Studios. Angela Gheorghiu is accompanied by the National Radio Orchestra conducted by Tiberiu Soare, by the Madrigal choir (which this year celebrated 50 years of activity) and by the Accoustic Choir. The musical arrangements of popular songs or belonging to Romanian composers from different periods belong to Dan Dediu, Cristian Constantin, and Lolea Arvinte .

 

(audio source MediaProMusic)

 

(audio source MediaProMusic)

 

(audio source Gabriela Dragoi)
Buna Dimineata la Mos Ajun (Good Morning on Santa’s Eve) and Mos Craciun (Santa) by Dimitrie G. Kiriac open introducing us in the mood for celebration . Trei Crai de la Rasarit (Three Magi from the East) is the first of the six traditional songs, retelling the story of the Annunciation in the beautiful language of the Romanian village. Leganelul lui Iisus (Jesus’ Small Craddle) (or Florile Dalbe – White Flowers – by Valentin Teodorian ) and the traditional Inchinarea pastorilor (Sheppphers Worship) develop the same theme. Steaua sus rasare (The Star Rises Above) and O, ce veste minunata (What A Wonderful News) belong to the eternal seasonal repertoire in the Romanian tradition. Another version of Florile Dalbe (White Flowers) composed by Tiberiu Popovici begins with a rhapsodic theme combined with beautiful bell sounds and offers perhaps the most beautiful orchestration of the disc. Nasterea Domnului (Nativity of the Lord) by Paul Constantinescu is the longest and most complex song on the disc , yet fits well with the overall atmosphere. La Vileem colo jos (Down there in Bethlehem ( again a traditional song, but enriched with a sophisticated and interesting orchestration) and the short Colinda (Carol) by Emil Montia conclude the disk in a exuberant atmosphere of celebration.

About Angela Gheorghiu’s exceptional vocal qualities I do not need to write. What I notice is the respect and the vibrant emotion with which the artist approaches the traditional repertoire. At no moment we can feel the diva, what we hear is a singer in a great shape who works in perfect harmony with the orchestra and chorus, adding vibrancy and deep feelings to each of the songs. With this CD precious jewels of the Romanian tradition have a chance to enter and take a place of honor alongside other succesesl of the genre, to heat not only the households of the Romanians but enriching also the celebrations of music lovers worldwide.

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

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the mark of Luc (Film: Colombiana – produced by Luc Besson, 2011)

I liked Colombiana, a film that bears the mark of Luc. Luc Besson, of course. Although he is not directing this film, he wrote the script and produced it, and more important infiltrated into it some of the stylish and cynical touch which is characteristic to his best films. By providing a feminine character that descends from comics (Laura Croft comes to mind in many of the sequences) with a realistic life story and placing choreographic and well directed action scenes in the dire atmosphere of the drug wars Besson took a bet. A bet which he won with the help of a not so experimented director (Olivier Megaton), which makes me believe that his hand may have been also behind the directing exercise as well.

 

source www.imdb.com/title/tt1657507/

source www.imdb.com/title/tt1657507/

 

The first few minutes prepare the ground by showing how the parents of pre-teen girl Cataleya are murdered in her native Colombia and how she finds the way to the US, to find her uncle, a more than honorable mobster in Chicago and achieve the dream of becoming a professional killer to revenge the parents’ death. 15 or so years later she has become that killer and has more than 20 corpses in her CV, just that all of these are bag guys which she kills just to draw the attention of her object of revenge. All these seems very unrealistic and so they are – pure comics stuff. However this film is much more than a comics-inspired action film.

 

(video source SonyPictures)

 

Part of the reason Colombiana works can be found in the excellent rendition of the environment and the careful build-up and precise acting of the supporting characters. I especially liked the one of the FBI agent played by Lennie James, an actor used much and well in TV series (Jericho was one of them). The best acting however belongs without doubt to Zoe Saldana. The greenish thin girl from Cameron’s Avatar used here her real face and body and all is to the benefit of the viewers. The combination of the incredible (the hero, the action scenes) and credible (the accurate landscape and social environment, a script line that makes sense) works well, and I need to credit again Besson for making sure all corners are carefully rounded. The ending leaves hope for a sequel, and I hope rumors about Colombiana 2 are true. There are rumors also about Avatar 2. As I know Hollywood there are chances for both sequels to come to reality, and for once it would not be a bad thing.

 

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World Press and Local Testimony 2013

Bringing to Israel the international Word Press journalistic photography winners and joining in the same exhibition the Israeli Local Testimony collection has become a tradition, and so is my visiting the show at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. I could not miss the 2013 edition.

 

IMG_1426

 

Selected from over 100,00 entries submitted most of them during 2012, the World Press 2013 edition choices seemed to me less impressive than in the previous years. While in each of the other editions there were a few photographs that I remember well until today, the current one did not offer too many works that I will remember visually next year. The overall mood was also quite somber. Many of photos in the events-related categories were connected to the situation in the Middle East, and with the fading of the hopes of the ‘Arab spring’ and the civil conflicts and extreme Islam offensive that took over the area, they let room to some horrific images. But even out of the area, photojournalism of the year 2013 contained little reasons of optimism.

 

IMG_1427

 

The ‘Local Testimony’ section occupied this year almost equal area in the interior of the exhibition space. As in the previous years the quality and intensity of the works were in some cases equal to these in the international section. The Israeli section also celebrated ten years since its first occurrence, and this is a good opportunity to see in the show a few of the best photos exposed during the decade.

 

source http://blog.ecla.de/world-press-photo-13-the-story-behind-an-image-revie/

source http://blog.ecla.de/world-press-photo-13-the-story-behind-an-image-revie/

 

The big prize of World Press 13 was awarded to a dramatic shot taken in Gaza by the Swede Paul Hansen showing the funeral of two children killed in the military actions of Israel aimed to stop the bombing in the south of Israel. Politics put aside it’s a great photo showing the horrors of war and the price inflected on innocent victims in a year which has seen too many innocent civilian victims all over the Earth.

 

source source blog.chasejarvis.com

source source blog.chasejarvis.com

The work that impressed me most esthetically belongs actually to the sport photos section. It is taken by Wei Seng Chen and shows the finish of a bull race in Sumatra.

 

source http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/297/

source http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/297/

 

With the Middle East in the center of the news and of the photojournalists some of the entries in the Israeli section seem to be a direct continuation of the works in the international section. Such is the photo taken by Ammar Younis during the protest of the Bedouins against the intentions of the government to relocate them, a move they perceive like endangering their way of life.

 

source http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/297/

source http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/297/

 

Yohann Dobensky took a picture in the more intimate environment of an ultra-orthodox family in pilgrimage at the tombs of the great rabbis in Ukraine. The innocent game of a kid playing with a plastic gun tells a lot about the obsession of the Israeli society, even of its less militaristic circles with weapons.

Even if the awards selection falls behind the one on the previous years, World Press 13 and Local Testimony is a show to visit. More information on the Web site of the museum http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/297/ and on the site of the World Press organization (including images and descriptions of the awarded works) – http://www.worldpressphoto.org/.

 

Posted in art, photography | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

the cat of a generation (animated film: Fritz the Cat – Ralph Bakshi, 1972)

Having spent the 70s in Romania and missed much of the cultural fresh air, I am in a continuous process of recovering some of my lost time. Music was the only form of art which crossed the Iron Curtain thanks to Radio Free Europe and to the vinyl records smuggled through customs, but otherwise I am still catching up with much of the books, films, and arts of the times of my first youth. The animated feature Fritz the Cat realized in 1972 by Ralph Bakshi was one of the sensations of these years, the first animated movie to be X-rated and break the taboos of the children and family oriented cartoons industry. Bakshi himself – born in Haifa in 1938, and brought by his family in the US in 1939 – seems to be an interesting character and creator, refusing to compromise and to follow beaten paths. He rather seems the kind of artist who breaks his path through.

 

source www.imdb.com/title/tt0068612/

source www.imdb.com/title/tt0068612/

 

With ‘Fritz the Cat’ Bakshi takes a popular comics character created by Robert Crumb and throws him in the decadent New York of the beginning of the 70s, as kind of a fall-out student whose only purpose in life is having sex with as many and as different girlie animals as possible, smoking pot, and participating a revolution or two on the way. I liked the way Bakshi positioned his character catching the big features of the hippie generation, and placing it in relation with the other anti-establishment movements of the era – the anarchistic revolutionaries, and the Black Panthers. We recognize the landscape from the metropolis and universities of the ‘Undergraduate’ to the desert crossed by the trucks and motorcycles of ‘Easy Rider’. We laugh at the characters (an anthology scene has three NY chicks trying to draw the attention of a black – well, crow with texts about how beautiful is the color, another one features the cat followed by pig policemen in a synagogue, with one pig being .. hum, Jewish), we recognize the music – original score, sounds authentic because it is authentic. It’s irreverent and daring.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htIbDWhd93o

(video source Colin Macleod)

 

‘Fritz the Cat’ may not be a masterpiece and was never meant to be one. Animation is maybe not mother of innovation, and the pace of the story does not match the masterpieces of the genre it departs from, but the same happens when a road movie is compared to a thriller which happens on the roads. It is an important film in my opinion because it broke the conventions and showed the power of the genre. Many other creators followed, not in the same genre, not in the same mood, but using the techniques and daring to dare, because after Fritz using animation for any subject was possible. Fritz was unique.

 

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the beach of the deprived (film: Bombay Beach – Alma Harel, 2011)

It is probably better sometimes to see a film after the buzz is over in order to appreciate it – its good as well as its weakest parts. The break-through film of Alma Harel was very much talked about when it was released a couple of years ago. I have seen it only now and I can probably better enjoy its best parts, as well as wonder about other without necessarily being influenced by the chorus of praise (some justified) which accompanied its release.

 

source www.imdb.com/title/tt1758576/

source www.imdb.com/title/tt1758576/

 

The landscape seems to belong to a post-apocalyptic film. On the deserted shores of a sea that was born by an accident a small community of people deprived of almost everything tries to survive. Yet this is not the planet after an atomic war, and this is not the Sea of Aral either, but a real landscape and real people in the state of California, in a place located at measurable distances from all the services available in one of the most sophisticated states of the USA. The destinies of several people are being followed in parallel. A boy with behavioral problems whose parents went to jail are may be in danger of being denied parenthood if they get in any kind of more trouble. A teenager who was born and raised in the violent suburbs of a big city and has seen death and violence, and came here in the search of the right path for overcoming his social condition. An old man who survived a life of working in the oil fields but never abandoned his passion for booze, smoking, women. All the stories are human and credible and real. This may look like art fiction, but is actually a documentary of a special kind.

 

(video source dogwoof)

 

The art dimension of the film is provided by the each of the characters dancing at some point in time. Each of the dancing episodes is so well integrated in the whole movie that it looks quite natural. Dancing may not be part of their real life, but Alama Harel made it look like it is. Yet here comes also the problematic aspect of the film. We get a glimpse of life in one very extreme area of today’s America, with its people. It’s real life and yet there is some manipulation here, because there was a cameraman (maybe the director herself) some place to catch what looks like pieces of truth. It’s beautiful but I could not escape a feeling of artificiality. Yet Alma Arel is certainly a film-maker to follow, Let us see what subjects she will pick next.

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an original mix (Film: $9.99 – Tatia Rosenthal, 2008)

$9.99 is a very special kind of film. It combines a very classic style of animation called ‘stop-motion’ which I remember being used since the 60s in the East-European animation movies with modern and realistic setting, all based on a collection of touching and in many cases surprising and even disturbing stories written by the Israeli writer Etgar Keret. Whie many of Keret’s original stories are located or inspired by his home city of Tel Aviv, the action this time is moved to some undisclosed metropolis, which could be in Australia, could be in Israel, could be in almost any place on Earth.

 

sursa http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790799/

sursa http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790799/

 

The stories develop in parallel with some intersecting threads. An angel befriends an old and lonely man, gives him company and some hope, but is he an angel? A kid dreams to become a football star and to buy a footballer action man, but his father turns aside his dream to a more concrete educational goal which may become a dream by itself. A young man tries to find his purpose in life from 9.99$ motivational books, and finds the lost connection with his uncommunicative father in an un-expected way. His brother falls for and beds the girl of his (and many men’s) dreams but this relationship may demand unexpected sacrifices.

 

(video source amir harel)

 

All the stories start in a conventional manner, we seem to know the characters, they can not only be neighbors in the same building but neighbors of ours as well. All the stories develop in ways we do not expect, and some end badly. Yet, there is a feeling of humanity and intrinsic kindness that is shared by all and the overall effect is unexpectedly positive, although at the end I cannot really point why. Maybe, for sure actually the fine cinematography, the voices belonging to such actors as Geoffrey Rush or Samuel Johnson play a role. This film delivers more charm than one can expect.

 

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Carte: Mihai Dimitrie Sturdza – Ruşii, masonii, Mareşalul şi alte răspîntii ale istoriografiei

‘Ruşii, masonii, Mareşalul şi alte răspîntii ale istoriografiei’ aparuta in 2013 la editura compania este una dintre cele mai interesante carti de istorie pe care le-am citit in ultima vreme, si marturisesc ca am citit-o cu mare interes. Mihai Dimitrie Sturdza, autorul cartii este descendent al uneia dintre familiile cu nume in istoria Romaniei, si devenit  istoric imbina – daca este sa judec dupa aceasta carte – curiozitatea si rigoarea cercetatorului cu talentul asternerii pe hartie a unor episoade istorice care sub condeiul sau nu numai ca devin mai clare in detaliile lor, ci sunt si prezentate dintr-o perspectiva de multe ori noua si surprinzatoare. Nascut in 1934, Sturdza a avut sansa sa paraseasca Romania in 1963 si sa-si continue in libertate o cariera de istoric imbinata cu activitate publicistica, jurnalist la Europa Libera si translator oficial al presedintilor Frantei in intalnirile lor ‘istorice’ cu dictatorul Romaniei din anii 70 si 80. ‘Ruşii, masonii, Mareşalul şi alte răspîntii ale istoriografiei’ este o culegere de articole si studii istorice, unele publicate initial cu cateva decenii in urma, altele recente, toate revazute. Desi cartea nu are un fir unitar – in episoadele ei ii intalnim si pe rusi, si pe masoni, si pe maresalul Antonescu dar niciodata pe toti impreuna – ceea ce este comun este abordarea inedita bazata pe descoperirile facute de istoric in arhivele, bibliotecile, colectiile de ziare ale lumii. Spre deosebire de colegii sai de breasla ramasi in Romania, Sturdza a putut cerceta si scrie in libertate, si asta i-a permis sa abordeze subiecte – inclusiv unele tabu-uri – din puncte de vedere originale si de multe ori contrare opiniilor istoricilor formati si influentati de cerintele istoriografiei comuniste, sau care au perpetuat tarele acesteia si dupa redobandirea libertatii dupa anul 1989. Explicit sau implicit cartea contine polemici cu istoriogrfia oficiala sau consacrata a Romaniei de ieri si de astazi, ceea ce face si mai interesanta lectura volumului.

Cele 13 episoade istorice ale cartii acopera 170 de ani de istorie romaneasca, de la perioada Scolii Ardelene si pana la inscaunarea dictarii comuniste. Diferite in amploare ele nu sunt diferite si in profunzime, si merita citite cu atentie, inclusiv notele care in unele locuri intrec in dimensiuni si consistenta insasi textul paginilor respective, completandu-l cu informatii bibliografice si mini-biografii ale personalitatilor mentionate in pagina.

 

sursa www.observatorcultural.ro

sursa www.observatorcultural.ro

 

Cele sase capitole din prima sectiune a cartii acopera perioada de la 1780 pana la primul razboi mondial. Titlul acestei sectiuni este ‘Romania intre Occident si Rusia’ indemnand la reflectie despre cat de constante sunt dilemele politicii si istoriei Romaniei moderne si de astazi. O tema comuna a acestor capitole sunt insa societatile secrete care au jucat un rol important in istoria Romaniei, un rol cateodata uitat – cum este cazul apartenentei boierului reformator bucovinean la societatea secreta infiintata de insusi imparatul Austriei Iosif al II-lea ca instrument de aplicare a politicii sale iluministe – si alteori exagerat de alti istorici romani. Sturdza a cautat si gasit in arhive documente care arata cat de putin semnificativa a fost participarea junilor romani precum Rosetti sau Bratianu in societatile masonice si miscarile revolutionare franceze dinainte de 1848, pentru ca apoi sa sparga in tandari mitul contributiei masonice la Unirea Principatelor si urcarea pe tron a lui Alexandru Ioan Cuza. In mod explicit:

‘Arhivele masonice de la Paris probeaza si faptul ca nimic din ce s-a scris pana acum despre Steaua Dunarii nu este conform adevarului.’ (pag. 50)

In realitate aceasta loja infiintata la inititiva imparatului Napoleon al III-lea in 1858 cu scopul de a pune pe tronul Principatelor pe un var al imparatului a fost mai mult o sursa de romane foileton (‘Misterele Bucurestilor’) sau mai rau de vodevil, si din cauza neseriozitatii participantilor (unul dintre ei fiind actorul Constantin Mille) si datorita faptului ca ajuns la putere Cuza a suprimat-o in 1860 impreuna cu alte focare de potential pericol pentru puterea sa politica.

Doua dintre cele mai interesante capitole ale cartii au in centrul lor Iasii anilor domniei lui Cuza, ai rasturnarii acestuia si venirii la putere a principelui Carol, si apoi deceniul Junimii. Este prima carte serioasa si documentata in care am gasit informatii concrete despre puterea economica si financiara a comunitatii evreiesti din acea vreme. Evreii instariti au facut de altfel parte si din loja  masonica  ‘Steaua Romaniei’ care a jucat un rol extrem de important in istoria Iasilor si a Romaniei acelor ani. Complet inedit pentru mine a fost episodul loviturii de stat separatiste incercate de partida boierilor Roznovanu dupa caderea lui Cuza in 1867 la instigarea Rusiei. Acum abia am inteles mai bine originile fictiunii istorice a ‘poporului moldovean’ care se perpetueaza pana in ziua de astazi. Capitolul destinat Junimii si relatiei acesteia cu lojele masonice este si el extrem de interesant si complet inedit pentru mine. Functionand o vreme ca o aripa intelectuala a lojii ‘Steaua Romaniei’ Junimea s-a despartit de aceasta gasindu-si menirea culturala si nationala care i-a castigat locul in istoria Romaniei:

‘Purtatori de idei – si in aceasta consta insemnatatea lor in istoria culturii romane – fanariotii au introdus Iluminismul in Principate. Tot ei, inainte de a disparea au adus la Iasi Iluminismul masonic. Aspectul definitiv, stilul romanesc al Junimii a fost insa dat de romani cu iubire de tara – Pogor, Maiorescu, Negruzzi – pentru care prioritatea consta in constituirea unei culturi demne de a figura alaturi de celelalte culturi ale Europei.’  (pag. 127)

 

sursa cotidianul.ro

sursa cotidianul.ro

 

Relatia intre romani si straini, intrigile imperiilor vecine si influentele nationalitatilor minoritare stabilite de-a lungul istoriei pe teritoriul Romaniei constituie o preocupare continua a istoricului Mihai Dimitrie Sturdza. A doua parte a cartii se deschide cu un capitol  dedicat lui Zamfir Arbore – personaj astazi aproape complet uitat de istorie, dar care a avut o viata destul de indelungata si de interesanta pentru a cuprinde doua biografii aproape complet diferite – o tinerete traita in Rusia si Elvetia petrecuta in cercurile violent-revolutionare si anarhiste, urmata de stabilirea in Romania si o cariera de inalt functionar al lui Carol I, profesor la Academia Militara si mentor al regelui Ferdinand. La inmormantarea sa in 1933 i-au adus elogii personalitati cat se poate de diferite, de la Nicolae Iorga la conducatori socialisti, de la patrioti basarabeni la ziaristii (in mare parte evrei) din presa de stanga bucuresteana. In acea perioada fiica sa Ecaterina Arbore era de multa vreme exilata in Uniunea Sovietica, activista in Comintern, si probabil ca daca nu ar fi cazut victima represiunilor staliniste canibale de la sfarsitul anilor 30 ar fi avut sansa sa devina in vremuri o rivala a Anei Pauker.

Unul dintre capitolele cele mai surprinzatoare ale cartii este cel dedicat episodului scrierii romanului Kaputt de catre Curzio Malaparte, roman considerat multa vreme drept una dintre marturiile nu numai literare dar si cu valoare documentara ale pogromului de la Iasi din iunie 1941. Desi se pare ca a trecut prin Iasi in perioada de la inceputul razboiului majoritatea informatiilor lui Malaparte nu erau marturii directe ci informatii culese mai tarziu de la terte persoane, iar reportajele publicate in acei ani de presa italiana departe de a fi scrise de pe front cum dadeau a intelege textele erau scrise din linistea si confortul unei vile la Capri.

‘… groaznicele corespondente de pe frontul inghetat erau compuse sub soarele Mediteranei cu ajutorul telegramelor de presa germane, ale memoriilor scrise de ofiterii care fusesera in Rusia in campania lui Napoleon Bonaparte si ale relatarilor datorate participantilor la diferite expeditii polare. Totodata, pe masura ce se profila victoria Aliatilor asupra Axei, pronazistul God Shave the King se metamorfoza in antinazistul Kaputt.’ (pag. 190)

‘Astfel incat s-a putut spune despre Kaputt ca este o carte inventata aproape pe de-a intregul dar verosimila pana la tragism, o “abilissima fantasia” a unui oportunist neconformist.’ (pag. 192)

Urmatoarele trei capitole sunt dedicate unor episoade diplomatice legate de incercarile diferitelor cercuri politice romanesti de a se rupe de alianta cu Germania si de a negocia conditii mai avantajoase de armistitiu, pentru iesirea Romaniei din razboi si pentru ce avea sa urmeze dupa aceea. Masonii par sa fi disparut complet de pe scena istorica, apare insa in rol principal Maresalul cu a carui incercari de reabilitare Mihai Dimitrie Sturdza nu se impaca nici istoric si nici politic. Capitolul dedicat negocierilor care au avut loc in anii 1943-1944 in capitala Suediei in incercarea de a scoate Romania din alianta cu Axa demonstreaza ca soarta Romaniei era in acel moment deja pecetluita de intelegerile dintre Churchill si Stalin la conferintele de la Yalta si Teheran. Politicienii romani cautau o alianta cu puterile occidentale care insa deja abandonasera Romania in soarta vointei viitorilor ocupanti sovietici. Lipsiti de realism se refugiau in iluzii:

‘Oamenii politici romani ignorau toate acestea si se apropiau treptat de impas, crezand in salvarea tarii lor de anglo-americani – o salvare pe care realitatile politice si starea de pe teren a operatiunilor militare ale celor trei Aliati nu o permiteau deloc. La orice indiciu contrar sperantelor lor se aratau surprinsi si neincrezatori.’ (pag. 280)

Personal mi-a placut mult si capitolul dedicat teatrului diplomatic din capitala Mexicului unde era refugiat fostul rege Carol al II-lea tinut ca o posibila carte de schimb si presiune fata de regele Mihai, capitala in care ambasador sovietic era un personaj fascinant pe nume Constantin Umanski nascut la Chisinau care a pus bazele politicii sovietice de creare in America Latina a unei sfere de influenta anti-americane ca intr-un fel de preludiu al razboiului rece. Ultimele doua capitole se refera la procesul lui Antonescu cu cateva documente noi care nu aduc insa vrei noutate senzationala, si la un ridicol proces de calomnie din Parisul anilor 50 in care colaboratorii comunisti locali au chemat in ajutor cativa propagandisti din tarile ‘socialiste’ printre care si Romania, reusind doar sa expuna ridicolul propagandei comuniste in primul deceniu al razboiului rece.

In paginile sale cele mai interesante cartea lui Mihai Dimitrie Sturza contesta in multe locuri linia adoptata de multi istorici romani in ceea ce priveste momente cheie ale istoriei Romaniei moderne. Plina de informatii interesante si pentru mine inedite, scrisa cu talent si seriozitate, este una dintre cele mai pasionante lecturi istorice pe care le-am parcurs in ultimii ani. O recomand cu caldura.

 
 
 
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