ENESCU - Skinned Alive
a film by Toma Enache
February 15, 2025 at 19:00
Cinema "Florin Piersic" Cluj Napoca
𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝟕𝟎
Starting January 2025, we commence the series of special screenings to commemorate 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 heart-wrenching love affair 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 a genius's soul to the audience, in a film that blends music, history, and personal drama.
Director Toma Enache emphasizes in an interview for the London Director Awards: “Few musicians in history have been as unanimously 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 something great behind. In fact, that's what the opera Oedip, George Enescu's magnum opus, is about.”
“Nineteenth-century literature has given us various examples of ‘romantic love in the feminine,’ but the history of everyday life also tells us the other side of the coin. In its simplest forms, the presence of the 'masculine' was inevitable, at least for the narratives of the time (today we would also talk about other relational dimensions). Back then, in some cases, the bilateral 'woman-man' aspect of love’s suffering was clear. Consider the love between Heinrich Von Kleist and Henriette Vogel (a married woman who could not leave her husband), which led the two secret lovers to suicide, to the extreme gesture, to live in eternity a love that on this earth was forbidden to them. In the story of the Romanian musician, despite knowing the princess loved him, George Enescu is an emblem of ‘Romantic Love in the Masculine,’ which does not fear to show itself in all its sweetness and romance.
Toma Enache makes us experience its sweetness and romance in every moment of the film, directing a perfect cast of actors in each role. Above all, the protagonists are superb!” — Maestro Nino Graziano Luca, Director, Compagnia Nazionale di Danza Storica
The film has been scheduled in the official selection and has won awards at multiple 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 Art Film Festival Athens; Salerno International Film Festival, and others.
Toma Enache, the director of “ENESCU, Skinned Alive,” was recently awarded the "Premio Cultura" at the cultural event “Leoni, Gattopardi di Sicilia,” organized at Donà dalle Rose Palace 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 Italian Chamber of Deputies and the International Dance Council UNESCO.
The film boasts a remarkable cast, with Mircea Dragoman as George Enescu and Theodora Sandu as Princess Maruca, alongside renowned 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. Costumes are designed by Italian Stefano Nicolao, famous for his work on Oscar-winning productions, and the music combines George Enescu’s works 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, conducted by Maestro Cristian Măcelaru, artistic director of the George Enescu Festival, and the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, led by Maestro Horia Andreescu. Additionally, violinist Alexandru Tomescu adds a distinct note to this sound production. The soundtrack also includes an original musical fragment performed by George Enescu on violin and Dinu Lipatti on piano.
On the film's Facebook and Instagram pages, the complete list of the dates and locations of each premiere is posted. Check the list and don’t miss the unique chance to watch “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. Despite loving him passionately, Maruca is tied to her husband and children. Fate releases her from her marriage, but will it be enough for them to be happy together? And the opera? Will Enescu ever get to compose it?
Title: “Enescu – Skinned Alive”
Duration: 120 minutes
Rating 12+
Soundtrack: National Orchestra of France, conducted by Maestro Cristian Măcelaru, and National Radio Orchestra of Romania, led by Maestro Horia Andreescu
Director: 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:
“When I finished watching 'ENESCU, Skinned Alive' I immediately looked for the biography, not of Enescu, but of director Toma Enache, because I was surprised by the film's quality. I believe I finally understood George Enescu after watching the two hours of the film. Toma Enache has directed four feature films since 2013 and has staged many plays in Bucharest. He has always been appreciated for the quality of his projects.
The film’s 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 appreciated the reconstitution of a fascinating period, given we are talking about the early 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, have the brilliance of explosions, sometimes seeming supernatural.
It is hard to find so much respect for the spirit of classic narratives in modern cinema. The style and atmosphere of the film remind us of the great masters of Italian or German cinematography. Toma Enache does not compromise in the pursuit of excellence.”
INTERNATIONAL ART FILM FESTIVAL ATHENS
“ENESCU, Skinned Alive” is a triumph not only as a period piece or biographical film but also as a philosophical exploration of the human condition. It addresses eternal questions related to love, creativity, and meaning with grace and depth, inviting the audience to reflect on the challenges of genius and the sacrifices required by the pursuit of 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, depth, and moving tribute to an artist who lived and loved passionately, it reminds us all of the power of art to illuminate the path to harmony both in life and in love.”
INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL ROME — PRISMA
“Like the notes of a symphony, every moment in Enescu's life intertwines with nuances, pauses, and tones that go beyond mere melody. Between one note and another, in the silent, profound space between them—the interval, the unspoken chord—lies 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 that separates them, Enescu's existence is built between the shadows of his loves, his losses, and the endless pursuit of beauty and truth.”
“Enescu, Skinned Alive” is more than a film or a concert: it is an EXPERIENCE you must live. (Emil Călinescu, CINEMIL)
“Between Enescu's life and art, there was no frontier. And Toma Enache captures precisely this invisible (un)boundary!
Since “Man of God,” I have not seen people in an entire hall silent at the end, silently reading the credits for minutes on end, without anyone daring to disturb with the applause due to a gala...
It felt as if we too had 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: Association C.L.A. La Steaua, CIF,12708800 BUCURESTI
