Nea Marin miliardar (1979)

User Rating:

8.8/10   

Director:

Sergiu Nicolaescu

Writers:

Eugen Barbu (writer)
Vintilä Corbul (writer)

Release Date:

20 August 1981 (Hungary)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A paysan (Nea Marin) is mistaken for a millionaire (Mr. Juvett) to whom he looks exactly like. |

Cast

Amza Pellea	...	Nea Marin / Mr. Juvett
Draga Olteanu Matei	...	Veta
Jean Constantin	...	Mob Boss #1
Stefan Mihailescu-Braila	...	Mob Boss #2
Sebastian Papaiani	...	Gogu
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefan Banica
Puiu Calinescu	...	Detectivul
Hamdi Cerchez
Petre Lupu
Mihai Malaimare
Adina Popescu
Stela Popescu	...	Spioana

Also Known As:

Uncle Marin, the Billionaire
Uncle Martin, the Multimillionaire

Country:

Romania

Language:

Romanian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Romania Film

Soundtrack:

Miss You

A great actor and character carries this film

I have seen this movie several times and each time with delight, though I recognized its flaws in the script and technicalities. But this movie is a must see for every Romanian, due to its great cast and first of all to the lead actor Amza Pellea, one of the best Romanian actors ever. He was equally great in dramas and in comedies, playing heroes from the history, tough dramatic characters, or droll peasants like in this one. The main problem with this film is that it would be hardly understandable for non-Romanian viewers. You have to be familiar with some Romanian realities, especially from the country and the communist era, and with the formidable TV stand up comedy character ("nea Marin", uncle Marin) around which the parody plot is built up and which was created by the same Amza Pellea. If one translated the dialogs and dubbed the voice of "nea Marin", all the charm and fun would be gone. And here's a somewhat sentimental component: part of my family originated from the same southern region of Romania, and I laugh each time at the humor and peasant's common sense of that character, very similar to my father's and my uncle's. "Nea Marin" lives!