Constantin Băltărețu
Based on a theatrical text by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912), who was a bitter and funny witness of the turn-of-the-20th-century Romanian bourgeois mores, Carnival Scenes manages to preserve and further enhance the slightly hysteric atmosphere of his plays. Pintilie creates a strange combination of carnival scenes which is brought to the screen as a burlesque, fast-paced, screwball comedy with a meditative undertone. This film was banned in Romania for a decade until the death of Ceausescu in 1989 and was only released after the 1989 revolution.
The movie is set in 18th century Maramureș region of Romania. The Romanian officer Grigore Pintea return to his village and finds out that his parents were killed, and other villagers were tortured because they protested against the unfair treatment of Bartolok Graff. He deserts the Austrian army and he becomes an outlaw. He is joined by many peasants and so his band manages to occupy 2 fortresses.
In a mountain village, two kids find a roman fibulae. Trying to find more, they stumble upon the notes of a history professor about a Roman settlement Lisidava. They are trying to locate it.
Laura (Carmen Galin) comes from a small town on the Danube to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. She is addressing Irina (Elena Albu) and her mother (Eliza Petrachescu) for a miscarriage following her death. Overwhelmed by a blame not belonging to her, Irina suicides.
The main characters are two "Don Juans", professional "fiancees", who travel the country in search of desperate women willing to spend money to find their soulmates.
Truck driver Papa (Sebastian Papaiani) carrying food for a large construction site canteen, falls in love with two girls.
