The Cinema Guild Have Their Minds Set on ‘Aurora’

One of the best films to come out of this year’s Cannes, and perhaps the lengthiest when you discount Assayas’ Carlos, has been picked up by art-house/foreign cinema stalwarts The Cinema Guild. Due to the subject matter, style and length, it won’t be the easiest of films to market, but Aurora seriously makes us consider Cristi Puiu as a master filmmaker – and this after only three films. The drama will open in theaters in 2011.

Gist: In the 181 minutes, you’ll see an apartment kitchen: a man and a woman discuss Little Red Riding Hood, their voices hushed, mindful of waking the little girl sleeping next room. Waste land on the city outskirts: behind a line of abandoned trailers, the man silently watches what seems to be a family. The same city, the same man: driving through traffic with two hand-made firing pins for a hunting rifle. The man is 42 years old, his name – Viorel. Troubled by obscure thoughts, he drives across the city to a destination known only to him.

Worth Noting: This is a part of Puiu’s ‘Six stories from the outskirts of Bucharest’; a series of six intertwined but independent stories. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and Aurora are two parts in the series.

Do We Care?: Early notice: this was not only among our most anticipated films of the year, and will turn out to be among our top 10 Best of 2010. Our own Sean Glass had the chance to meet Puiu for a lengthy sit-down at the NYFF and we hope to bring the series of video interviews sometime next month. In the mean time, here is our footage from the world premiere presentation in Cannes.