2012 Cannes Film Festival Predictions: Bogdan Mustata’s Wolf

Gist: Wolf is a lonely, silent, sixteen-yearold boy. He tries to hide his emotions, but sometimes he is overwhelmed by the smell of a girl’s hair, or when trying to peek under Clara’s short skirt – the 20-year-old who visits her boyfriend who lives upstairs. Wolf lives with his younger brother and his mother. He doesn’t have a father, he just has a few things of his that remind Wolf of his father’s death, and Wolf tries to avoid them. The burden of watching over his family has fallen to him, but his mother has a boyfriend who Wolf can’t stand, and his brother is a member of a juvenile gang of thieves.

Prediction: Mustata got a boost from L’Atelier a year ago and promptly shot this film last Fall. With six months for a quick post-production workflow, Wolf should be ready to aid in the return of the Romanian New Wave after its brief hiatus in 2011. With Mungiu filling the Romanian Competition spot in the Official selection, this is looking like prime meat for either Critic’s Week or the Fortnight.