Ion Bechet
Mihai and Nidala travel the country putting on shows that convey a simple message: there can be hope if there is love and faith.
When the Soviet Army marched into Romania in 1944, a part of the Romanian population went “into the mountains” – a diverse assortment of nationalists and fascists, liberals, apolitical farmers and members of the middle-class, who were affected by the Communists’ expropriations. Over a thousand armed resistance groups took refuge in the inaccessible forests of the Carpathian Mountains where they waited in vain for the support of the Western Allies. One of them was led by Ion Gavrilă-Ogoranu, who managed to remain undetected until 1976 when he was arrested. This film depicts the daily existence of this group. It tells the story of a struggle that became an end in itself, as the enemy was constantly in pursuit and arrest meant torture and often liquidation. Hungry and emotionally withdrawn, the group of young men got entangled in a partisan war that could not be won, lost in the landscape of the South Carpathians, accompanied by a vigilant secret police, the Securitate.
In a poor country obsessed with making easy money, 100 bucks are enough to lose your mind for a couple of minutes. The members of a rock band come up with a bet: if you stick a light bulb in your mouth you can’t pull it out anymore. However absurd the idea may seem, it soon proves to be contagious…
Toulon runs a puppet theatre in the heart of Paris and meets the sorcerer (the mysterious Afzel). When his life is saved by the lovely Swiss Ambassador's daughter Ilsa, we bear witness to the origin of the Puppet Master.
