I very seldom have the opportunity to watch films from the Republic of Moldova, and that’s why I was happy that ‘Carbon‘, released in 2022, directed by Ion Bors based on a script written by Mariana Starciuc, was included in the program of the Romanian film festival that is taking place these weeks in Israel. The film is a co-production of studios from Spain, Romania and the Republic of Moldova, but the subject, cast and most of the technical team are from Moldova. Going back three decades, to the beginnings of the Republic of Moldova, ‘Carbon‘ presents, in the form of farce mixed with thriller, not only an episode from the birth of one of the youngest European states, but also draws with the tools of satire a picture of the main lines of one those unresolved conflicts that smolder on the periphery of Europe and of the former Soviet empire.
The story takes place in 1992, in a Moldovan village on the right bank of the Dniester. The Republic of Moldova is preparing to celebrate one year since its independence, but changes are happening slowly. Plates with the names of stores or even those of state institutions, are written some in Latin characters, others in Cyrillic. The tricolor flags are still uncertain about the choice of colors. The mayor and the militia man also seem to be descendants of previous periods, while agricultural work is still done in the kolkhoz. Only the priest has gained more influence, but he doesn’t quite know what to do with it. A few kilometers away, an armed conflict is taking place between the new Moldova and the pro-Russian separatists on the other side of the Dniester. It seems more like a conflict between gangs of mercenaries, ex-soldiers returned from Afghanistan, and anyway, the fate of the confrontation is being negotiated thousands of kilometers away, in Moscow. The main heroes of the film belong to different generations. Vasea is a veteran of the wars of the former Soviet Union. Dima is a young man who sees no way out of his hopeless village life except by enlisting in the army in order to receive the benefits promised to war heroes. Vasea will lead Dima to the front, but on their way, on the side of the road, they find a charred corpse. The dead deserves a proper burial. If it is the body of a Moldovan soldier, even a hero’s funeral. But what if it’s the dead body of an enemy soldier? Or maybe even of an important personality, because next to it is the burnt carcass of what used to be a luxury car. The complications are just beginning for the two, but also for the mayor, militiaman, priest, head of the collective farm and for the entire village.
The story in the film is a combination of history with absurdity, thriller with dark humor. The characters are genuine and human, and viewers will quickly fall under their spell and accept them with their pains and weaknesses. Where does this humor come from, humor without which the heroes could not survive and films like this would turn into dark dramas or horror stories? “Carbon” is inspired by Caragiale’s social and political satire but also by the adventures of Ilf and Petrov’s heroes, who acidly described the phenomena of another revolutionary transition, the one from the beginning of the Soviet system. But there is another influence here, and it is that of the movies of filmmakers such as Emir Kusturica, films that describe the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and the violent ethnic conflicts that arose almost overnight between those who until yesterday had been neighbors and coexisted more or less peacefully. I thought the acting was excellent. I will mention the names of Dumitru Roman (Dima) and Ion Vantu (Vasea), but the whole team is playing very well. My last reference about a director from Moldova is related to the films of Emil Loteanu, made 50 years ago. Ion Bors (for whom ‘Carbon‘ is the debut feature film) and his generation colleagues seem determined to write a new page in a cinematography that defines its artistic identity, along with everything that happens around.