The Paper Will Be Blue
Encyclopedia
The Paper Will Be Blue is a 2006 Romanian film written and directed by Radu Muntean
. The film was nominated for the 2006 Golden Leopard award at Locarno International Film Festival
.
(Miliţia) uniform, and light up cigarettes. Suddenly, the soldiers manning the checkpoint open fire and kill all of the APC's occupants.
The film then cuts to a Militia night patrol in Bucharest. Out of enthusiasm, one of the men, Costi Andronescu, abandons the mission and decides to fight for the cause of the Revolution
at the Television building. His CO
, Lt. Neagu and the rest of the fireteam
search for him during the confusing night of 22 December 1989.
Costi meets a group in a truck on their way to defend the TV station. He is in uniform and greeted as a brother and told "you are a civilian now" and he swaps items of uniform with the other men for civilian clothing. He and an unnamed Gypsy are asked to step down as they need to take an injured soldier to hospital after the truck is flagged down.
Costi and the Gypsy end up in a villa with soldiers and fighters under Army command. The villa is under attack by what are presumed to be forces loyal to the Communist regime and the two men are ordered to defend it. At one point, however, they realize that the "enemy" are also Army soldiers and try to explain the situation to one of the officers at the scene, only to be branded "terrorists" and "Arabs". Costi is found to be partly in uniform, which further aggravates their situation. He receives a mild beating and the two are confined in the cellar. Later a Colonel checks out Costi's bonafides and he is allowed to go. Meanwhile his CO Lt. Neagu (who treats Costi and his men like sons) has been driving all over the city until he calls at Costi's mother's place where they watch TV, smoke cigarettes and wait for him to turn up, fearing he is dead.
Eventually he turns up, they drive back to base. The film ends with them in the same standoff seen at the beginning, sitting in their APC while regular army soldiers ask them to identify themselves at the checkpoint. The men are unsure what to reply, but decide to give their Militia password several times ("the paper will be blue"). The film ends just before the soldiers start shooting.
Radu Muntean
Radu Muntean is a Romanian film director and screenwriter. He is a central figure of the Romanian New Wave.Radu graduated from the Theater and Film Academy in Bucharest in 1994, where he directed three short films. Since 1996, he has directed over 400 commercials and has won over 40 national and...
. The film was nominated for the 2006 Golden Leopard award at Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
.
Plot
The film begins with a scene of an armored personnel carrier (APC) and a military checkpoint in the background. Two men come out of it, one in civilian clothing, the other in a MilitiaMilitsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
(Miliţia) uniform, and light up cigarettes. Suddenly, the soldiers manning the checkpoint open fire and kill all of the APC's occupants.
The film then cuts to a Militia night patrol in Bucharest. Out of enthusiasm, one of the men, Costi Andronescu, abandons the mission and decides to fight for the cause of the Revolution
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
at the Television building. His CO
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, Lt. Neagu and the rest of the fireteam
Fireteam
A fireteam is a small military unit of infantry. It is the smallest unit in the militaries that use it and is the primary unit upon which infantry organization is based in the British Army, Royal Air Force Regiment, Royal Marines, United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Air...
search for him during the confusing night of 22 December 1989.
Costi meets a group in a truck on their way to defend the TV station. He is in uniform and greeted as a brother and told "you are a civilian now" and he swaps items of uniform with the other men for civilian clothing. He and an unnamed Gypsy are asked to step down as they need to take an injured soldier to hospital after the truck is flagged down.
Costi and the Gypsy end up in a villa with soldiers and fighters under Army command. The villa is under attack by what are presumed to be forces loyal to the Communist regime and the two men are ordered to defend it. At one point, however, they realize that the "enemy" are also Army soldiers and try to explain the situation to one of the officers at the scene, only to be branded "terrorists" and "Arabs". Costi is found to be partly in uniform, which further aggravates their situation. He receives a mild beating and the two are confined in the cellar. Later a Colonel checks out Costi's bonafides and he is allowed to go. Meanwhile his CO Lt. Neagu (who treats Costi and his men like sons) has been driving all over the city until he calls at Costi's mother's place where they watch TV, smoke cigarettes and wait for him to turn up, fearing he is dead.
Eventually he turns up, they drive back to base. The film ends with them in the same standoff seen at the beginning, sitting in their APC while regular army soldiers ask them to identify themselves at the checkpoint. The men are unsure what to reply, but decide to give their Militia password several times ("the paper will be blue"). The film ends just before the soldiers start shooting.
Cast
- Paul Ipate as Costi
- Adi Carauleanu as Lt. Neagu
- Dragoş BucurDragos BucurDragoş Bucur is a Romanian actor.Dragoş Bucur received the Shooting Stars Award, the annual acting award for up-and-coming actors by European Film Promotion, at the Berlin International Film Festival 2010.-Selected filmography:...
as Dragoş - Tudor Istodor as Bogdan
- Alexandru Potocean as Vasile
- Andi Vasluianu as Aurel
- Dana Dogaru as Mrs Andronescu
- Ion Sapdaru as Crăciun
- Mimi Branescu as Lt. Deleanu
- Alexandru Georgescu as Lt. Voinescu