''Gruber's Journey'' or ''Călătoria lui Gruber'' is a

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Radu Gabrea. It is set in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

during the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

in Iași (

Iași pogrom The Iași pogrom (, sometimes anglicized as Jassy) was a series of pogroms launched by governmental forces under Marshal Ion Antonescu in the Romanian city of Iași against its Jewish community, which lasted from 29 June to 6 July 1941. Accord ...

) and was shot on location in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

. The film screened at the Third Annual Romanian Film Festival.

Plot

The film centers on an Italian writer named

Curzio Malaparte Curzio Malaparte (; 9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957), born Kurt Erich Suckert, was an Italian writer, filmmaker, war correspondent and diplomat. Malaparte is best known outside Italy due to his works ''Kaputt'' (1944) and ''La pelle'' (1949). The f ...

, who was a member of the

Italian Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

. Malaparte is assigned to cover the Russian front for the Italian news service, and travels with Colonel Freitag of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

and the deputy commander of the local Romanian garrison to Romania. He suffers from a serious allergy and is sent to consult world-class allergist, Dr. Josef Gruber in Iași, but Gruber is missing. Suffering terribly from his allergy, Malaparte desperately seeks to find the doctor who has been captured. During his search for the doctor he encounters shocking situations in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

against the Jews in the city. He later writes a very critical account of the incident in his novel ''Kaputt''.

Cast

* Florin Piersic Jr. as Curzio Malaparte *

Marcel Iureș Marcel Iureș (; born 2 August 1951) is a Romanian actor. He is one of Romania's most acclaimed stage and film actors. He has acted in films and on stage both in Romania and internationally, and has played at least ten roles on Romanian and Briti ...

as Doctor Gruber *

Udo Schenk Udo is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People Medieval era * Udo of Neustria, 9th century nobleman *Udo (Obotrite prince) (died 1028) *Udo (archbishop of Trier) (c. 1030 – 1078) * Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark (c. 1025 – ...

as Col. Freitag * Claudiu Bleonț as Col. Niculescu-Coca *

Alexandru Bindea Alexandru is the Romanian form of the name Alexander. Common diminutives are Alecu, Alex, and Sandu. Origin Etymologically, the name is derived from the Greek "Αλέξανδρος" (Aléxandros), meaning "defending men" or "protector of men", ...

as Guido Sartori *

Răzvan Vasilescu Răzvan Vasilescu (; born 14 August 1954) is a Romanian actor. He has appeared in 40 films and television shows since 1979. He starred in '' The Oak'', which was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmography ...

as Stavarache * Andi Vasluianu as Mircea *

Ionuț Grama Ionuț is a Romanian masculine given name. The English equivalent is Johnny. Notable persons with that name include: * Ionuț Andrei (born 1985), Romanian bobsledder * Ionuț Badea (born 1975), Romanian footballer * Ionuț Bălan (born 1978), Rom ...

as Consulate Driver *Mihai Gruia Sandu as Dr. Anghel * Dumitru-Paul Fălticeanu as Soldier *

Cristina Bodnărescu Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

as Wome * Trefi Alexandru as Soldier

Production

In September 2007, scenes were shot at the North railway station in

Suceava Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. Klaus Pet ...

. The railway station was chosen by the filmmakers to appear in the film because its architecture was reminiscent of the period of the Second World War.

References

External links

* Jews and Judaism in Iași 2008 films 2000s historical drama films Holocaust films The Holocaust in Romania Romanian World War II films Hungarian World War II films Romanian historical drama films 2008 drama films Films about writers Films set in Romania Films shot in Bucharest Curzio Malaparte Romanian war drama films Hungarian war drama films {{Romania-film-stub