ASTA E

A documentary about modern-day Romania, Asta e, was filmed in the village of Sulina, a long way from the civilized world. Ten years after the fall of Ceaucescu, the last traces of communism have disappeared, but nothing seems to have replaced the void. The people live in great poverty, bravely bearing their fate, with or without the help of black humor. Toni and Varvara are a married couple in their fifties, although they look much older. They squabble all day long, mainly over the odd jobs which the perpetually drunk Toni «forgets» to do. Then there is Nicu and Pal, two friends who live together in a cheerless bunker, where they dream in their beds about women and a better life. During the day, they drag their boat over the frozen river to their nets, which are often just as empty as their lives. Finally, fifteen-year-old Ionut shares a house with his alcoholic father and a earns a little on the side by stealing cable from rusty ships and selling the copper wire it contains. At times funny, at times sad, Asta e paints a sharp and human portrait of a village left behind on the road to progress.