ENESCU - Flayed Alive
a film by Toma Enache
February 9, 2025, at 17:00
National Athenaeum Iasi
𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐔𝟕𝟎
Starting January 2025, we are beginning a 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 the world throughout 2025!
“Enescu – Flayed 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 center of the story is his passionate and often heartbreaking love with Princess Maruca Cantacuzino, a relationship that shaped his destiny and musical course. Through sensitive and profound direction, Toma Enache brings to the audience an emotional exploration of the soul of a genius, in a film that combines music, history, and personal drama.
Director Toma Enache highlights in an interview for 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, this is also what Enescu's opera Oedip is about, his magnum opus.”
“The literature of the 19th century brought us various examples of “Feminine Romantic Love”, 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 speak of other relational dimensions). In some cases then, the bilateral nature of “female-male” in the suffering of love was clear. Think of the love between Heinrich Von Kleist and Henriette Vogel (a married woman who could not leave her husband), which pushed the two secret lovers to suicide, to the extreme act, to live forever the love that was forbidden to them on this earth. In the story of the Romanian musician, despite knowing the princess loved him, George Enescu is the emblem of a “Masculine Romantic Love” that is not afraid to show itself in all its sweetness and romanticism.
Toma Enache makes us experience its sweetness and romanticism in 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 of the National Company of Historical Dance
The film has been featured in the official selection and 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; Athens International Art Film Festival; Salerno International Film Festival and others.
Toma Enache, director of the film „ENESCU, Flayed Alive”, was recently awarded the “Premio Cultura” at the cultural event “Lions, Leopards of Sicily”, 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 Commission of Italy's Chamber of Deputies 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. Costumes are created by Italian Stefano Nicolao, famous for his work on Oscar-winning productions, and the music combines works by George Enescu and 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 note to this musical 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, a complete list with the date and location of each premiere is posted. Check out the list and don't miss the only chance to see the film “Enescu – Flayed Alive” in your city!
About the film:
George Enescu, a brilliant composer and violinist, is at the height 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 bound to her husband and children. Fate frees her from marriage, but will it be enough for them to be happy together? And the opera? Will Enescu ever succeed in composing it?
Title: “Enescu – Flayed 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
Director: Toma Enache
Producers: Marta Maria Mocanu, Elena Enache
Release Date: November 2, 2024
FILM REVIEW/ Review film
ENESCU, Flayed Alive
Critic Gustavo Coletti for Times of Cinema:
“After watching 'ENESCU, Flayed Alive', I immediately searched for the biography, not of Enescu, but of director Toma Enache, because I was impressed by the quality of the film. I believe I finally understood George Enescu, after watching the two hours of film. Toma Enache directed four feature films since 2013 and has staged numerous theater plays in Bucharest. He has always been appreciated for the quality of his projects.
The film credits are visually fascinating. Statues decomposing as representations of an impending tragedy. I accessed 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 since we are talking about the early years of the 20th century, especially in Romania. The attention to detail in terms of costumes and set design does not go unnoticed, and the most intense moments generate an eclectic vibe between cinema and theater, with the brilliance of explosions, sometimes seeming supernatural.
It is hard to find in modern cinema so much respect for the spirit of classical narratives. The style and atmosphere of the film remind us of the great masters of Italian or German cinema. Toma Enache makes no compromises in the pursuit of excellence.”
ATHENS INTERNATIONAL ART FILM FESTIVAL
“ENESCU, Flayed Alive” is a triumph not only as a period piece or biographical film but also as a philosophical exploration of the human condition. It tackles eternal questions about love, creativity, and meaning with grace but also with depth, inviting the audience to reflect on the challenges of genius and the sacrifices involved in 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 exactly that - through its beauty, profundity, and emotional tribute to an artist who lived and loved passionately, we are all reminded of the power of art to illuminate the way to harmony both in life and in love.”
ROME INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL — PRISMA
“Like the notes of a symphony, each moment of Enescu's life intertwines with nuances, pauses, and tones that transcend mere melody. Between one note and another, in the silent and profound space between them — the interval, the unspoken chord — there exists a vast array 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 quest for beauty and truth.”
“Enescu, Flayed Alive” is more than just 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 frontier. And Toma Enache captures exactly this invisible (non)boundary!
Since “The Man of God”, I have not seen an entire theater of people silent at the end, reading the credits in silence for minutes on end, without any daring to disturb even with the applause due to a gala…
It was as if we died with Enescu, this man flayed alive in life, alive among us in death!” (Floriana Jucan - Q Magazine)
#EnescuFlayedAlive #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 BUCHAREST
