The New Year That Never Came

By interweaving the seemingly trivial life journeys of six individuals, whose paths cross on a single day in Bucharest, Mureşanu crafts a tragicomedy set against the backdrop of the Romanian Revolution of 20 December 1989, which led to the overthrow of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s communist dictatorship that had ruled since 1964. Filmed in a 4:3 format, in shades of grey, and from various perspectives, the film immerses viewers in the oppressive, stifling atmosphere of the time—an era that cast a shadow over the country, with an ending no one could have foreseen as eventually breaking down into freedom.