VIDEO Radu Jude's film, applauded at the open stage in Cannes. “He's talking about something that millions of Romanians know very well”
“The Diary of a Maid”, written and directed by Radu Jude, had its world premiere in the Quinzaine des Cinéastes section of the Cannes Film Festival and was rewarded with minutes of applause, the Ministry of Culture writes in a statement on Saturday.
The representatives of the institution told that “the hall was filled to the last seat”, on Friday evening, at the screening of the film made by Radu Jude.
“The lights went out, the hall fell silent for a few moments, and then the story of a woman who left Romania reached the big screen of one of the most important film festivals in the world”, declared the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry congratulated Radu Jude, Ana Dumitrașcu, Vlad Rădulescu and the entire team.
“The film talks about something that millions of Romanians know very well: longing, the distance between those who leave and those who stay at home, the lives lived between two worlds,” the institution's statement reads.
What Radu Jude said about the film
In April, the director stated that his production “mixes various themes”, and everything is cast in a form, “if not original, at least unique, to the extent that it is thought out especially for this film”.
“My new film, 'Le Journal d'une femme de chambre' (The Journal of a Maid), is neither an adaptation of Octave Mirbeau's novel of the same name, nor a 'remake' of any of the films (some made by great filmmakers, such as Luis Buñuel) that adapt the book”, stated Radu Jude in a statement published by Avanpost Productions on April 14.
“It's more of a variation on some of the book's themes – and the story focuses on the life of a young woman from Romania who works for a family in Bordeaux. It's a film that mixes various themes – emigration, poverty, the relationship between East and West, the relationship between theatre, literature and cinema, etc. – all cast in a form that I want, if not original, at least unique, to the extent that it's thought out especially for this film”, he explained.
“Quinzaine des Cinéastes” is a parallel selection to the main Cannes Film Festival, created in 1969 and organized by the Société des réalisateurs de films. The selection aims to showcase the most unique cinematic styles of contemporary cinema, according to its official website.
