The Thistles of The Bărăgan

Drama · 1957

Rumania's entry in the 1958 Cannes Film Festival was the excessively melodramatic Ciulinii Bărăganului. The title translates as Fools of Bărăgan, in reference to a band of beleaguered feudal Rumanian peasants. But these are no fools: instead, they are fearless freedom fighters, organizing a brave (though foredoomed) revolt against the tyranny of the landowners. The parallels drawn between the people of Bărăgan and Russia's revolutionary leaders are all but impossible to miss. It would have been nice, however, if the story had not been told in such a heavy-handed, spell-it-all-out fashion.

Starring

Louis Daquin, Florin Piersic, Liviu Popa, Clody Bertola, Alexandru Struțeanu, Marcel Anghelescu, Gheorghe Vitanidis, Nuță Chirlea, Dinu Cocea, Ana Vlădescu

Director

Louis Daquin