In Focus: New Europe

Having witnessed first-hand the Second World War, expulsions, Ceauşescu’s industrialisation and surveillance, the revolution of 1989, and the corrupt post-communism on the margins of the EU, he has many stories to tell. However, he is one of the last living members of his generation, so he is running out of contemporaries with whom to share his experiences. The director takes the time to talk to him, listening to his recollections and filming him throughout the seasons. They talk at his house, brimming with family history. Over the course of the film, the two develop a relationship, and she goes from invisible observer to visitor, while Licu cooks for her and offers her homemade schnapps, as he displays his photo archive. Some days are happy, others are sad, yet, a certain sense of resignation lingers.