The Wake

Photo By Marian Haniarec

The year is 1999, and American news is preoccupied with the Columbine High School shooting, Y2K, and the aftermath of the Lewinsky scandal. Over the Atlantic and through the woods to Capalnita, Romania, a similar scene is taking place. Despite thousands of miles of separation, the Romanian media is focused on American headlines. This obsession with the west is the main theme of Cristian Nemescu’s film California Dreamin’ (Endless), part of the Expanding the Frame film series now showing at the Walker Art Center.

Capalnita is a small Romanian village, literally located in the middle of nowhere. When the town’s overzealous station conductor stops a NATO transport on its way to Kosovo, everyone gets involved. Doiaru, the conductor, refuses to let the American troops through until they provide proper transit papers. The mayor of the village, seeing the presence of Americans as an opportunity to bring much needed money and publicity to his dying home, invites the troops to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the village.

Although the young troops seem excited to attend the village’s festival, the American commanding officer, Captain Jones, wants nothing more than to get the train moving and meet his deadline. During the festivities, troops get together with eager local girls and dance to a Romanian Elvis impersonator, who is fully clad in a white, jewel-studded jump suit. Love and sex stories ensue. A local loser boy is hopelessly in love with the most beautiful girl in the village, who, obviously, is in love with one of the American visitors.

The main narrative of the film is periodically interrupted by sepia toned flashbacks that bring the audience back to Doiaru’s childhood. We learn that the conductor had his parents taken away from him after World War II by the Russians. His family, who were German supporters during the war, had been waiting for the American’s to arrive and save them. However, as Doiaru indicates to Captain Jones, the recent arrival of the NATO troops was the first time Americans had come to the village.

As days go by and delays pile on, the situation gets increasingly tense. Captain Jones, fed up with Doiaru and the lack of cooperation with the Romanian government, decides to take matters into his own hands. After a very Bush-esque speech, Jones convinces the villagers to unite under one enemy, Doiaru. The people riot against the conductor, during which he is killed and the NATO train leaves.

At a staggering 2 ½ hours, California Dreamin’ seems to be truly endless, as the title suggests. It moves along slowly and light-heartedly for the first two hours, and then ends abruptly in a burst of violence. It is difficult to discern whether or not the film reflects Nemescu’s final vision, as he was tragically killed in a car accident in 2006 before he could finish the film. However, there is still something deeply sad and lingering about the film’s message. The picture it paints of the political and social state of 20th-century Romania, and the delusional dependence it had on an idealized America is chilling, and forces the viewer to rethink how Americans are regarded overseas.

We may never know if the finished California Dreamin’ is exactly what it was supposed to be, but it nevertheless holds a profound impact. Overall, its length and seemingly rushed ending are compensated by the film’s clear and powerful message: the proverbial savior version of America does not exist, and countries like Romania need to look to themselves in order to be saved.

California Dreamin’ (Endless) Trailer