Set in Bucharest in 1972, Metronom is a quiet, atmospheric film that places young love in the midst of an oppressive regime and the tides of change. Directed by Alexandru Belc and lead by a stunning performance by Mara Bugarin, the film entrances audiences with the hopeful joy of a blossoming romance while exploring the devastating effects of what was then known as the Romanian People's Republic.
Ana (Bugarin) is a 17-year-old in the throes of her first love. When we first meet Sorin (Serban Lazarovici), we witness the gentle embrace between him and Ana that is soon dashed by the news that Sorin's family is moving to Germany in search of a better life. In a desperate attempt to convince Sorin to stay, and, against her parent's wishes, Ana attends a house party thrown by her friend Roxana (Mara Vicol). Wearing a plum purple dress, Ana prepares herself to seduce and/or proclaim her love to Sorin that night.
With the Doors' "Light My Fire" blaring in the background, Ana takes Sorin into Roxana's bedroom, where they make love for the first time. Perhaps caught up in the moment, or because of her desire to make Sorin stay, Ana tells Sorin she loves him, which promptly makes him leave. Humiliated, Ana exits the apartment and goes for a walk alone.
Her return to the party is when the film strikes a vastly different tone. The tears of tender heartache are quickly replaced with the fears of reality as Roxana's apartment has fallen silent while the secret police root around for contraband. Ana falls in line with the rest of the kids at the party and the group are taken to a detention centre, forced to write statements about the party and point fingers at who is responsible for writing a letter to Cornel Chiriac, giving thanks to him for expanding their world views.
Chiriac was a radio host in the late '60s who used his popular music show, Metronom, to stage subtle forms of protest by playing banned music. In real life, Chiriac was forced to flee Romania and continued his work on Radio Free Europe in Austria and Germany before being murdered in 1975 in Munich.
Belc's film takes its title from Chiriac's radio show, and the name also serves as a double entendre for a generation forced to step in time with an authoritarian regime. Prior to the appearance of the secret police, Ana's friends are enjoying the carefree whims of being teenagers with the wild tunes of Led Zeppelin playing. But once the authorities show up, the tides of free thinking are interrupted by the threats of rape, beatings and harm to their loved ones.
Metronom is an elegant film enhanced by Belc's restrained filmmaking. All of the events, no matter how euphoric, sad or intense, are played out with the greatest subtlety. There are no operatic blasts of emotion to punctuate the dramatic nature of teenagers or the raging anger of tyranny. Instead, everything is steady and measured, much like the abiding beat of a metronome.
Ana, Sorin, Roxana and all their friends represent a generation whose youth was unfairly stolen by forces larger than any one individual or protest. But in the middle of these unfortunate circumstances, Belc unravels a universal beauty: first loves are at once magical and brutally unkind. His celebration of this creates a wondrous film that celebrates the teenage spirit, even in the face of injustice at the highest level.
(Films We Like)Ana (Bugarin) is a 17-year-old in the throes of her first love. When we first meet Sorin (Serban Lazarovici), we witness the gentle embrace between him and Ana that is soon dashed by the news that Sorin's family is moving to Germany in search of a better life. In a desperate attempt to convince Sorin to stay, and, against her parent's wishes, Ana attends a house party thrown by her friend Roxana (Mara Vicol). Wearing a plum purple dress, Ana prepares herself to seduce and/or proclaim her love to Sorin that night.
With the Doors' "Light My Fire" blaring in the background, Ana takes Sorin into Roxana's bedroom, where they make love for the first time. Perhaps caught up in the moment, or because of her desire to make Sorin stay, Ana tells Sorin she loves him, which promptly makes him leave. Humiliated, Ana exits the apartment and goes for a walk alone.
Her return to the party is when the film strikes a vastly different tone. The tears of tender heartache are quickly replaced with the fears of reality as Roxana's apartment has fallen silent while the secret police root around for contraband. Ana falls in line with the rest of the kids at the party and the group are taken to a detention centre, forced to write statements about the party and point fingers at who is responsible for writing a letter to Cornel Chiriac, giving thanks to him for expanding their world views.
Chiriac was a radio host in the late '60s who used his popular music show, Metronom, to stage subtle forms of protest by playing banned music. In real life, Chiriac was forced to flee Romania and continued his work on Radio Free Europe in Austria and Germany before being murdered in 1975 in Munich.
Belc's film takes its title from Chiriac's radio show, and the name also serves as a double entendre for a generation forced to step in time with an authoritarian regime. Prior to the appearance of the secret police, Ana's friends are enjoying the carefree whims of being teenagers with the wild tunes of Led Zeppelin playing. But once the authorities show up, the tides of free thinking are interrupted by the threats of rape, beatings and harm to their loved ones.
Metronom is an elegant film enhanced by Belc's restrained filmmaking. All of the events, no matter how euphoric, sad or intense, are played out with the greatest subtlety. There are no operatic blasts of emotion to punctuate the dramatic nature of teenagers or the raging anger of tyranny. Instead, everything is steady and measured, much like the abiding beat of a metronome.
Ana, Sorin, Roxana and all their friends represent a generation whose youth was unfairly stolen by forces larger than any one individual or protest. But in the middle of these unfortunate circumstances, Belc unravels a universal beauty: first loves are at once magical and brutally unkind. His celebration of this creates a wondrous film that celebrates the teenage spirit, even in the face of injustice at the highest level.
