Ten years ago, filmmaker Șerban Georgescu bought 250 kg of cabbage for 10 euros (his mother needed all for pickling!) and so he made an experiment: he added a new profession to his résumé and went to plant potatoes and cabbage for one year and see if there was a way to make more than the bare minimum by selling the produce after a year of hard work and high costs for labour, gasoline, water, and equipment. This is how Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons/ Varză, cartofi și alți demoni came about. Now he has returned to the village of Lungulețu after a decade to meet the people again and see if and what changed. The revelation might not be a huge surprise, but I will not spoil it for you because Georgescu’s film does a great job at getting there.  

Most of Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons. 10 Years Later / Varză, cartofi și alți demoni. După 10 ani recalls the initial endeavour by including the earlier footage and then adds the current part at the end. The re-watch was just as revelatory as it was years ago, and the update makes perfect sense. Unless one is involved in any kind of agricultural work, there are so many surprises here, most of them infuriating, and it becomes clear why agriculture is a failing business in Romania, a consequence of communism-indebted thinking on one side and a mix of state incompetence and lack of collective thinking on the other. As sad as labour and its unperceived worth are, Georgescu is an assured, witty storyteller, able to pack complex matters in clear and funny bits, and he brings such an infectious love and generosity for the people he befriends that the film is also very entertaining. Staging himself as a hapless but endearing protagonist makes it more likeable. But for sure you'll never look at your cabbage the same way again. Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons. 10 Years Later has just been released online for free, you can watch it here and below.

More local productions, both recent and old, are currently visiting Brașov. I am happy whenever I can recommend something in this city. I grew up nearby and visit regularly and there is so much room for a more exciting cultural life. Hopefully time, enthusiasm, and a supportive local political climate will make it happen. 

Cinema Astra, run by the city, is one of the former state-owned cinemas rehabilitated and re-opened for the public a few years ago and occasionally hosts festivals and events. There is no regular theatre programme – more transparency about its opening times and profile would help. So it’s good to see it working again after a longer break because the last time I remember it being open was spring 2024. Until 29 April it’s hosting CinemaUniT, a showcase of classics and contemporary fare, thrown together without much of a visible concept: fiction of various genres, animation, documentary, ethnographic and musical content. But it’s certainly a varied bag to please everyone. Ion Popescu-Gopo was a brilliant cartoonist and so lovely to see his 1989 Maria and Mirabella in Transistorland/ Maria și Mirabela în Tranzistoria, in which the two eponymous girls get lost in a TV set, a mix of animation and live action. Nicolae Corjos’ Confessions of Love/ Declarație de dragoste (1986) was also a hugely popular love story. On the new side, Emanuel Pârvu’s Three Kilometres to the End of the World/ Trei kilometri până la capătul lumii and Bogdan Mureșanu’s The New Year That Never Came/ Anul Nou care n-a fost are two of last year’s most seen and talked about films. The entrance is free and the projections are accompanied by talks with film teams and guests. Separate discussions and masterclasses (e.g. on literary adaptations) are hosted by Transilvania University of Brașov.

By Ioana Moldovan, columnist, ioana.moldovan@romania-insider.com
(Photo info & source: still from Cabbage, Potatoes and Other Demons, courtesy of Kolectiv Film)