Why Are the Bells Ringing, Mitica? (1981)

Based on a theatrical text by Romanian writer Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912), who was a bitter and funny witness of the turn-of-the-20th-century Romanian bourgeois mores, Carnival Scenes manages to preserve and further enhance the slightly hysteric atmosphere of his plays. Pintilie creates a strange combination of carnival scenes which is brought to the screen as a burlesque, fast-paced, screwball comedy with a meditative undertone. This film was banned in Romania for a decade until the death of Ceausescu in 1989 and was only released after the 1989 revolution.

Released

1981-09-26

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Runtime

132 min

Status

Released

Directed / written by

Lucian Pintilie, Lucian Pintilie

TMDB rating

6.6/10 from 16 votes