Romania

by MovieMaker Staff | Published January 29, 2007

Too bad there isnâ€™t an Academy Award for best use of location, as Cold Mountain couldâ€™ve added that honor to its seven Oscar nominations. The nation of Romania, which stood in for the Appalachia region of the United States, should certainly be proud of its beautifully atmospheric role in the film. In recent years, with its rolling countryside, modern metropolitan atmosphere and old-world appeal, the country has become the go-to international site for Hollywood and European moviemakers. (It probably doesnâ€™t hurt that work permits are not required to film there.)

This alternative to the popular moviemaking destination of the Czech Republic has set the scene not only for Cold Mountain (shot in the small town of Potigrafu) but for Francis Ford Coppolaâ€™s latest endeavor, Youth Without Youth (slated for a 2007 release). It even stood in for those fictional shots of Kazakhstan in the Golden-Globe-winning comedy Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Blood and Chocolate, a werewolf-vampire thriller from German director Katja von Garnier, is the latest release to take advantage of Romaniaâ€™s hidden charmsâ€”and what better place to film a vampire movie than the home country of Dracula himself? Bucharest, the capital city, was â€œlike a character in the movie,â€ says the filmâ€™s star, Hugh Dancy. â€œItâ€™s a luxury to be able to make the most of the city.â€

You can also catch the ominous historic sites of Romania in:

An American Haunting
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Amen
Train of Life

Sound Off: Stories of vampires and werewolves have long had an association with Romaniaâ€”either filmed or set in the country which houses the famously spooky region of Transylvania. Which of these stories have best translated to the big screen? Weigh in by posting in the comments section!

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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

Comment by Vali on 1/29/07 at 12:37 pm

Romania is NOT a Slavic country! It is a Latin country, or, as the saying goes, “a Latin island in a Slavic ocean”.
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Comment by David Banoff on 1/29/07 at 2:06 pm

A nice comment on Romania’s popularity as a movie location, but for one error: Romania isn’t a Slavic country! Romanian is a Romance language, not a Slavic language, and the Romanian people, though certainly a mix of just about every group which passed through the Danube Basin, trace their origin to the Roman conquest of Dacia by Roamn Emperor Trajan in 106 a.d.

Comment by Oana-Valentina Suciu on 1/31/07 at 2:02 am

Yes, only that Romania is far from being a Slavic countru - on the contrary, it is a Latin country surrounded by Slavs. Not that anything would be wrong with that, but it’s important to avoid this sort of confusions.
The type of culture also explains the filmaking in Romania. Maybe one should check names such as Cristi Pui, Corneliu Porumboiu, Catalin Mitulescu, Alexandru Solomon, Cristian Mungiu, Dumitru Budrala - to mention just a few from the newer generation of directors and film producers.

Comment by Staff on 2/01/07 at 8:07 am

Thanks for catching our error, which is now corrected. We hope you’ve been enjoying the blog and will keep on reading!

Best,
The MovieMaker Staff

Comment by Ireneusz on 1/23/08 at 4:57 pm

I will give you a simply test: (dont get offended) Go to you bathroom, look in you mirror, if you see a blonde, tall, blue eyed bloke, Your ancestors were Slavic, but if You see dark, and small type of person, you are lucky - probably Your family came from turkey, or is latin, or gypsy, or whatever. Cheerio :)