ENESCU - Skinned Alive
a film by Toma Enache
January 31, 2025, at 18:00
Cinema "Mon Amour" Piatra Neamt
𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝟕𝟎
Starting January 2025, we begin a series of special screenings to honor 70 years since the passing of our genius composer, George Enescu. The series of special screenings with the first artistic film dedicated to him begins on January 25 at the Romanian Athenaeum and will continue throughout the country and worldwide throughout 2025!
"Enescu - Skinned Alive" tells the extraordinary and tumultuous journey of one of the greatest Romanian composers and violinists, George Enescu. The film explores his inner world, revealing not only his immense talent but also the intense personal battles he fought throughout his life. At the heart of the story is his passionate and often heartbreaking love with Princess Maruca Cantacuzino, a relationship that shaped his destiny and the course of his music. Through sensitive and profound direction, Toma Enache brings an emotional exploration of the soul of a genius, in a film that blends music, history, and personal drama.
Director Toma Enache highlights in an interview for the London Director Awards: "Few musicians in history have been as universally acclaimed as George Enescu. The great cellist Pablo Casals described him as "the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart," and for Yehudi Menuhin, his student, he was "one of the wonders of the world."
Our film is for all those who love music, love stories, for all those who love people who dedicate themselves to their talent and sacrifice themselves to leave behind something great. In fact, that's what the opera Oedip, the magnum opus of George Enescu, is about."
"The 19th-century literature brought us various examples of "Romantic Love in a Feminine Way," but the history of everyday life also tells us the other side of the coin. In the simplest cases, the presence of "the masculine" was inevitable, at least for the narratives of the time (today we would also talk about other relational dimensions). In some cases back then, the bilaterality "woman-man" in the suffering of love was clear. Consider the love between Heinrich Von Kleist and Henriette Vogel (a married woman who could not leave her husband) that pushed the two secret lovers to suicide, to the extreme gesture, to live in eternity the love that was forbidden to them on this earth. In the story of the Romanian musician, despite knowing that the princess loved him, George Enescu is an emblem of "Romantic Love in a Masculine Way" that is not afraid to expose itself in all its sweetness, in all its romanticism.
Toma Enache makes us experience its sweetness and romanticism at every moment of the film, directing a perfect cast of actors in every role. Above all, the protagonists are at their best!" — Maestro Nino Graziano Luca, director Compagnia Nazionale di Danza Storica
The film has been scheduled in official selection and has won awards at several profile festivals, including: International Sound & Film Music Festival – ISFMF Croatia; Cyprus International Film Festival – Golden Aphrodyte CYIFF; Five Continents International Film Festival; Rome Prisma Film Awards; Florence Film Awards; International Film Festival of Art in Athens; Salerno International Film Festival and others.
Toma Enache, the director of the film "ENESCU, Skinned Alive," was recently awarded the "Cultura Award" during the cultural event "Leoni, Gattopardi di Sicilia," organized at Palazzo Donà dalle Rose, in Venice. This project was created and directed by Nino Graziano Luca, in collaboration with Countess Chiara Modica Donà dalle Rose, under the patronage of the Culture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies in Italy and the International Dance Council of UNESCO.
The film features a remarkable cast, with Mircea Dragoman as George Enescu and Theodora Sandu as Princess Maruca, alongside well-known actors such as Cezara Dafinescu, Manuela Hărăbor, Adrian Titieni, Cristian Sofron, Kira Hagi, Pavel Ulici, Filip Ristovski, Erica Moldovan, Codrin Dănilă and the late Constantin Codrescu. The costumes are designed by Italian Stefano Nicolao, celebrated for his work on Oscar-winning productions, and the music combines works by George Enescu with original compositions by Sebastian Androne-Nakanishi, named "Composer of the Year 2022" at the International Classical Music Awards.
The soundtrack is performed by the National Orchestra of France, under the baton of Maestro Cristian Măcelaru, artistic director of the George Enescu Festival, and the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, conducted by Maestro Horia Andreescu. Additionally, violinist Alexandru Tomescu adds a distinct touch to this sound production. The soundtrack also includes an original musical fragment performed by George Enescu on the violin and Dinu Lipatti on the piano.
On the film's Facebook and Instagram page, the complete list with the date and location of each premiere is posted. Check the list and don't miss the only chance to see the film "Enescu - Skinned Alive" in your city!
About the film:
George Enescu, a brilliant composer and violinist, is at the peak of his career and dreams of composing an opera. He falls in love with Princess Maruca, who inspires and challenges him. Although she loves him passionately, Maruca is tied to her husband and children. Fate releases her from marriage, but will that be enough for the two to be happy together? And the opera? Will Enescu ever be able to compose it?
Title: "Enescu - Skinned Alive"
Duration: 120 minutes
Rating 12+
Soundtrack: National Orchestra of France, under the baton of Maestro Cristian Măcelaru and the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, conducted by Maestro Horia Andreescu
Directed by: Toma Enache
Producers: Marta Maria Mocanu, Elena Enache
Release date: November 2, 2024
FILM REVIEW / Review Film
ENESCU, Skinned Alive
Critic Gustavo Coletti for Times of Cinema:
"Once I finished watching 'ENESCU, Skinned Alive,' I immediately searched for the biography, not of Enescu, but of the director Toma Enache, because I was surprised by the quality of the film. I believe I finally understood George Enescu after watching the two-hour film. Toma Enache has directed four feature films since 2013 and staged many plays in Bucharest. He has always been appreciated for the quality of his projects.
The film's opening credits are visually fascinating. Statues that decompose as representations of an impending tragedy. I had access to Enescu, through the director: a brilliant violinist and composer planning to compose an opera, in love with a married princess, who is also a mother. A true story, very close to fiction.
I greatly enjoyed the recreation of a fascinating period, as we are talking about the early years of the 20th century, especially in Romania. Attention to detail in costumes and set design does not go unnoticed, and the most intense moments generate an eclectic vibe between cinema and theater, having the brilliance of explosions, sometimes seeming supernatural.
It is hard to find in modern cinematography so much respect for the spirit of classic narratives. The style and atmosphere of the film remind us of the great masters of Italian or German cinematography. Toma Enache does not compromise in pursuit of excellence."
ATHENS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF ART
"ENESCU, Skinned Alive" is not only a triumph as a period piece or a biographical film, but also as a philosophical exploration of the human condition. It addresses eternal questions about love, creativity, and meaning with grace, but also with depth, inviting the audience to reflect on the matters of genius and the sacrifices required for the desire for perfection.
As George Enescu himself said, "The artist reveals to humanity the path to harmony, which is happiness and peace." Toma Enache's film does just that - through its beauty and depth, it pays touching tribute to an artist who lived and loved passionately, reminding us all of the power of art to light the way to harmony in both life and love."
ROME INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL — PRISMA
"Like the notes of a symphony, every moment of Enescu's life interweaves with nuances, pauses, and tones that transcend simple melody. Between one note and another, in the deep silent space between them — the interval, the unspoken chord — there is a vast range of hidden emotions and meanings that shape and give substance to his soul. Just as a symphony is made not only of notes but also of the distance separating them, Enescu's existence is built between the shadows of his loves, his losses, and his endless quest for beauty and truth."
"Enescu, Skinned Alive" is more than a film or a concert: it is an EXPERIENCE that you must live. (Emil Călinescu, CINEMIL)
"Between Enescu's life and art, there was no boundary. And Toma Enache captures exactly this invisible (non)border!
Since "The Man of God," I have not seen people in an entire hall silent at the end, silently reading the credits for minutes, without anyone daring to disrupt even with the applause due to a gala...
It was as if we had also died with Enescu, this man skinned alive in life, alive among us in death!" (Floriana Jucan - Q Magazine)
#EnescuSkinnedAlive #TomaEnache #RomanianFilm #Cinema #GeorgeEnescu
#ClassicalMusic #IndependentFilm
We look forward to meeting ENESCU!
For additional details regarding the above event, please contact the organizing entity: ,Asociatia C.L.A. La Steaua, CIF,12708800 BUCHAREST
