Soldiers: A Story from Ferentari

Two men form an unlikely couple in one of Bucharest’s toughest Romany neighborhoods in actress/filmmaker Ivana Mladenović’s naturalist drama, which represents a turning point in Romanian cinema’s depictions of gay romance and Roma society. Recently dumped, the bespectacled Adi moves into the rough Ferentari district intending to document its burgeoning manele pop/folk music scene; there he meets the bearish Alberto, an ex-con and constant hustler. Soon their relationship moves from uncertainty to love, much to the dismay of the community. A gay, Romany Romeo and Juliet, Soldiers offers “Romanian social realism with an ethnographic edge” (Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily).