Romanian Film Tells of Gypsies’ Slave Past
BUCHAREST, Romania — The slow black- and- white scenes in which two horsemen ride through vast, bleak landscapes in Radu Jude’s latest movie, “Aferim!,” could have come straight out of a classic American western, as could the central theme of injustice. Yet the movie is set in 19th- century Wallachia, part of modern- day Romania, where for almost 500 years ending in 1856, the Roma (or Gypsies, as they have been more commonly known) were viewed as property to be bought and sold.
The film, which won the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin Film Festival and is now Romania’s entry for best foreign-language picture at the Oscars, has been described as the country’s “12 Years a Slave.”
It has set off widespread discussion about enslavement of the Roma, a subject that until recently had rarely been aired in public.
“Among Roma activists, the movie really had an impact, and many are thinking how to use it to raise awareness,” said Margareta Matache, who from 2005 to 2012 was the executive director of Romani Criss, a leading Roma rights organization here, and is now an instructor at Harvard University.
“In the U. S., there’s a sense of embarrassment about slavery — in history books, memorials, continual reminders,” she said. “In Romania, slavery existed for almost 500 years, but there is nothing — nothing in the history books, in museums, no reference and no memorials.”
In 2011 Romania designated a holiday to commemorate the abolishment of the slavery of the Roma in 1856. But Mr. Jude said even then, the subject was “only really discussed by close circles of historians and Roma activists.”
His first two films, also widely praised features, were far more contemporary tales of family struggles. He said that “Aferim!” was born not only out of the lack of general knowledge about the slavery period but the second- class treatment of Roma today. “I wanted to look at how the repercussions of the past come into the present,” said Mr. Jude, 38, a leading filmmaker in Romania.
In the movie, a constable and his teenage son track a runaway slave, meeting a cast of characters along the way who underscore the xenophobia of the ruling class, peasantry and Orthodox Christian priests of the day. With dark humor, the movie touches on the long history of anti-Roma prejudice in many parts of Europe, including Romania.
The story is fictional, but Mr. Jude said he drew on the historical record. Before shooting began, he held a script reading with 20 historians and made adjustments in response to their input.
While “Aferim!” has largely been greeted positively by audiences and critics, there has been some backlash since its commercial release here in March. “After the movie came out there were hundreds of anonymous comments posted online saying these Gypsies should be killed and that we are destroying the image of our country” by making the film, Mr. Jude said.
He said his reaction was simply, “Instead of concentrating on changing the image of Romania, why don’t they focus on changing Romania?”
“Aferim!” is a striking departure from some Romanian movies that have been well-received in recent years, such as “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” “Beyond the Hills” and “Child’s Pose,” which were often dark social commentaries on contemporary or Communist- era Romania.
Mr. Jude is relaxed about the movie’s award prospects.
“It is more important that the film is discussed and used as a tool for further thinking and research,” he said. “That’s more important than someone saying, ‘That’s a nice film.’ ”