The New Year That Never Came

The communist regime and its downfall continue to occupy Romanian cinema in a virtually unmatched way. As in many works on this subject, the story revolves around a tension between loyalty to one’s conscience and submission to authority—expressed here through several intersecting storylines: a television director forced to re-record the Christmas program, his son who dreams of fleeing the country, an actress torn about whether to participate in the broadcast, a secret police officer persuading his mother to leave her home, and a factory worker shaken by his son’s holiday greeting. These and other characters reluctantly find themselves at the center of a growing drama that builds in intensity and tension until it reaches a breaking point. With a superb ensemble cast and Mureșanu’s precise direction, the result is a powerful and compelling drama that won the “Orizzonti” award at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.