Un été inoubliable (1994)
Directed by Lucian Pintilie

Film Review

Un été inoubliable is a comparatively little-known work from the acclaimed Romanian director Lucian Pintilie, adapted from a book by the distinguished Romanian author Petru Dumitriu. It is an unusual period piece which stars Kristin Scott Thomas (just a few years before her appearance in Anthony Minghella's The English Patient (1996) brought her international renown) amongst an otherwise mainly Romanian cast.  On the plus side, the film is beautifully shot, with some stunning location sequences which convey the raw beauty of the Romanian setting.  The acting is of a high standard although Thomas's evident charisma does tend to eclipse everything around her, diminishing the impact of her equally capable co-stars, Claudiu Bleont, George Constantin and Olga Tudorache.

Whilst the film's unsophisticated charms are hard to resist, the uneven narrative is somewhat lacking and fails to generate a sufficient emotional charge for the spectator to fully engage with the drama. The performances and the direction are worthy of praise but both are visibly impaired by a script which at times feels pedestrian and lacking in substance. In spite of this, Un été inoubliable is a well-crafted piece of cinema that ultimately succeeds in engaging our sympathies.

Film Synopsis

In 1925, Captain Dumitriu is obliged to ask for a transfer to another unit when his wife rejects the advances of his superior.  Arriving in a remote frontier post on the banks of the Danube, Dumitriu's first task is to round up some local Bulgarian peasants after some soldiers are murdered by Macedonian bandits.  Whilst he awaits the orders to have the peasants shot, his wife befriends them and employs them as gardeners on her land.  In the end, Dumitriu has to make a terrible choice between his wife's wishes and his duty as a Romanian soldier.