Love is in the air these days, with Valentine’s Day already here and the Romanian version of this celebration – Dragobete – coming up on February 24. So why not also make time to watch a movie (or more) about love?

Choosing a Romanian movie to watch on Valentine’s Day (or any other day) may not be the first thing that comes to people’s mind. However, there are many Romanian films worth seeing in this period, both comedies and dramas, and we’ve selected seven of them. Check out our list:

Nunta Muta/Silent Wedding (2008)

This film directed by well-known Romanian actor Horatiu Malaele, who is often associated with the Romanian New Wave, is a good example of a successful mix between drama and comedy.

Nunta Muta tells the story of a young couple from a remote village in Romania who wanted to get married in the troubled year of 1953. They were asked to cancel the big event following the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin but they decided to not follow the orders and go on with the event. However, given the fact that they were supposed to mourn after the death of Stalin and not celebrate, they thought it would be a good idea to have the party in silence, meaning all participants were asked not to make any noise. And that included the music band. Unfortunately, the wedding had a tragic end.

The Romanian Filmmakers Union awarded the film three prizes in 2008. The following year, Nunta Muta was nominated for eight Gopo Awards.

The full film:

Marti, dupa Craciun/Tuesday, after Christmas (2010)

Although a film about a regular man who finds himself in the position of having both a wife and a girlfriend, Marti, dupa Craciun is a movie about love.

Directed by Radu Muntean, one of the most successful Romanian directors, the film follows the story of Paul, a regular man from Bucharest who has been married to Ana for ten years and has a daughter. However, for several months he has also been involved in an extra-marital affair with 27-year-old dentist Raluca. He has to leave one of them before Christmas.

Marti, dupa Craciun was selected for the Un Certain Regard section of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Trailer:

Buna! Ce faci?/Hello! How are you? (2010)

This romantic comedy directed by Alexandru Maftei looks at how the relationship between two people who have been married for many years is heading, discretely, to its end.

Buna! Ce faci? tells the story of Gabriel and Gabriela, who have been married for more than 20 years, and their relationship that is seriously affected by the day to day routine. They both fall in love with strangers on the Internet, thinking they have found the perfect lovers. What they don’t know is that they have found each other. In just a few words, the film is a sweet-tempered midlife romance, involving musical instruments, computers, and a lot of misunderstandings.

The film was nominated for the Gopo Awards for best cinematography, best editing, best original score, and best make-up.

The full film:

Minte-ma Frumos/Sweet Little Lies (2012)

Minte-ma Frumos is a Romanian comedy film directed by Iura Luncasu that should be added to the list of “Romanian movies to watch.” More so around special days such as Valentine’s Day.

The film has a fairly formulaic rom-com format and with a well-known cast, including Diana Dumitrescu and Andi Vasluianu, it quickly won over the Romanian public in the opening year. Dana has to go out on a date with Dani because her chubby friend Oana doesn’t have the courage to meet her Internet lover face to face. However, in the end, no one is what they pretend to be and they all believe that telling lies is the most beautiful truth, and this leads to a series of misunderstandings. 

Trailer:

Love Building (2013)

Iulia Rugina’s romantic comedy Love Building is about fixing broken relationships. Or at least trying to.

It takes a simple premise and builds a mostly comedic scenario around it: 14 couples with problems – both straight and gay, young and less young – go to a camp designed to mend broken relationships. And they have seven days to fix their relationships. The workshop is set in an idyllic lake resort and led by three therapist friends - a geeky late bloomer, an apparently well-adjusted nice guy, and a bad-boy with serious love issues. With trainers who have problems of their own, things start to get out of hand.

Trailer:

#Selfie69 (2016)

This romantic comedy directed by Cristina Iacob, a sequel of the 2014 comedy #Selfie, was also very well received by the public in the opening year.

#Selfie69 tells the story of three friends in their early 20s – Roxi, Yasmine, and Ana - who make a bet on who will get married first within three days. The movie features many young Romanian actors as well as several famous ones, such as Maia Morgenstern and Razvan Vasilescu. #Selfie69 is a mix of comedy, action, and love.

Trailer:

Ana, Mon Amour (2017)

Ana, Mon Amour, directed by Calin Peter Netzer, was one of the most appreciated movies at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival - Berlinale, where it won a Silver Bear (Dana Bunescu, the film’s editor, won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution.)

The movie is a drama that talks about a love story and its most difficult moments. It focuses on Ana and Toma, who stumble into a passionate relationship as students and end up getting married and having a child. Later it is revealed that Ana has severe anxiety attacks, and Toma tries to keep her safe unconditionally. But when she seems to finally get better, Toma gets worse, and the fractures in their marriage are too deep to mend. 

Trailer:

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