ENESCU - Skinned Alive
Enescu - skinned alive
a film by Toma Enache
Genesis Cinema / 93-95 Mile End Rd, Bethnal Green, London E1 4UJ, United Kingdom
June 15, 2025 at 15:30
The first artistic film dedicated to George Enescu also arrives in London on June 15, 2025, to celebrate 70 years since the passing of our great composer.
The special screenings #Enescu70 are a tribute to George Enescu and a unique opportunity to rediscover the life and work of the great composer through a film with 40 international awards and the only Romanian film awarded internationally in categories such as best film, direction, scenography, costumes, soundtrack, original music, leading actors, supporting actors, image, producer, audience award, special jury award, award for outstanding achievements in cinematography.
This film is not just a cinematographic creation, but an arc across time, a reunion between past and present, a celebration of the universal genius George Enescu to which we invite you to participate.
The film has a remarkable cast, with Mircea Dragoman in the role of George Enescu and Theodora Sandu in the role of Princess Maruca, alongside well-known actors such as Cezara Dafinescu, Manuela Hărăbor, Adrian Titieni, Cristian Sofron, Kira Hagi, Pavel Ulici, Filip Ristovski, Erica Moldovan, Codrin Dănilă and the late Constantin Codrescu.
The direction is signed by Toma Enache, known for the feature films Nu sunt faimos dar sunt aromân (2013), the first film in the history of cinema spoken in Aromanian and Între chin și amin (2019), the first film about the communist horrors within the Pitești Experiment, multi-award-winning productions at international festivals and broadcast on Netflix, HBO and national television stations. The costumes are created by the Italian Stefano Nicolao, famous for his work on Oscar-winning productions, and the music brings together works by George Enescu and original compositions signed by Sebastian Androne-Nakanishi, designated "Composer of the Year 2022" at the International Classical Music Awards.
The soundtrack is performed by the French National Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Cristian Măcelaru, artistic director of the George Enescu Festival and the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Horia Andreescu. Also, violinist Alexandru Tomescu adds a distinct note to this sound production. The soundtrack also includes an original musical fragment, performed by George Enescu on violin and Dinu Lipatti on piano.
Synopsis:
George Enescu, a brilliant composer and violinist, is at the peak of his career and dreams of composing an opera. He falls in love with Princess Maruca, who inspires and challenges him. Although he loves her passionately, Maruca is bound to her husband and children. Fate frees her from marriage, but will it be enough for the two to be happy together? And the opera? Will Enescu ever manage to compose it?
Title: “Enescu – Flayed Alive”
Duration: 120 minutes
Rating: 12+
Directed by: Toma Enache
Producers: Marta Maria Mocanu, Elena Enache
Release date: November 2, 2024
Director TOMA ENACHE: “It is an honor to have the chance to make the first artistic film dedicated to such a man. I sensed that Enescu, with his life story, in addition to his music, can give Romanians a state of mind. I thank the audience from all over the country for coming to see the film dedicated to Enescu. I am glad that they understood the directorial approach and the purpose of this film. I thank them for their appreciation and messages. They have demonstrated that cinematographic art truly has the power to move and unite souls that vibrate on the same notes. As Enescu said, ‘in art you must vibrate yourself and make others vibrate.’ I believe we have succeeded in this.”
FILM REVIEW/ Film Review
LEVIATHAN Cultural Magazine, Marina Roman (film critic): “It is a film that makes a separate paradigm from most Romanian productions. Director Toma Enache dedicated it, in a recuperative gesture, long awaited – more than half a century – to the genius of Romanian music. A film with profound ramifications…, Viscontian elegant, with an exceptional science of frame composition, a flawless cast and with natural respect for history, which we should appreciate precisely because we rarely encounter it practiced in any cultural endeavor. (…) Enescu, flayed alive would be a biographical film, if it were not much more, a cinematographic edifice made up of interwoven plans, revealing psychologically, socially, artistically… Enescu, flayed alive would be a biographical film, if it were not a true initiatory journey. With a magician's wand, not just the conductor's baton, Enescu ‘awakens the music of our souls’ – as Queen Maria said – not just the music in our souls. Because he lived incandescently to create brilliantly.”
PALMA FILM FESTIVAL: “(...) a tumultuous and passionate love story, unfolding against the backdrop of the creative process, with an emphasis on Enescu's masterpiece - the opera Oedipe. The film is a celebration for the senses, delighting the audience with superb costumes, eye-catching sets and a fitting soundtrack.”
REVISTA FILM, Dana Duma (film critic): “A long-awaited biopic.(…) As in the case of choosing the interpreter for the role of ‘Maruca’, for Enescu, the director chose an actor known rather for his roles on stage, Mircea Dragoman, ‘holder’ at the State Jewish Theater in Bucharest. He took over the major suggestion transmitted by the director, that of the boundless goodness of the character and relied heavily on microphysiognomic and corporal language (the intense green gaze and the tall silhouette). Of course, fans of Enescu's music will feel rewarded to listen to many fragments from the symphonic creation of the composer, but also from his opera ‘Oedipe’. Especially since the music is performed at a high level (...).”
FARO Concurso de Cinema Mediterrâneo e Mundial: “The jury was impressed by the way 'Enescu, flayed alive' masterfully captures the essence of the beginning of the 20th century in Romania and France, through the special attention paid to period details and through the stunning visual composition.”
TIMES OF CINEMA, Gustavo Coletti (film critic): “I think I finally understood George Enescu, after watching the two hours of the film. (…) The attention to detail in terms of costumes and scenography does not go unnoticed, and the most intense moments generate an eclectic vibe between cinema and theater, they have the brilliance of explosions, sometimes seeming supernatural. It is difficult to find in modern cinematography so much respect for the spirit of classical narratives. The style and atmosphere of the film remind us of the great masters of Italian or German cinema. Toma Enache makes no compromises in the pursuit of excellence.”
EMILIA CHEBAC: “I have seen Enescu, flayed alive twice. At a film, the audience is the best barometer. It doesn't matter what will be written, what will be posted later on Social Media accounts, there in the hall, under the anonymity of darkness, the masks fall and the value is counted. When people cannot take their eyes off the screen, when they forget about their phones, it is a sign that ‘Enescu, flayed alive’ has defeated the complacency of maturity and the impatience of youth. I saw people furtively wiping away a tear and young people who said to Toma Enache: ‘I never thought that such a film would be made in Romania.’”
INTERNATIONAL ART FILM FESTIVAL OF ATHENS: “ENESCU, flayed alive” is a triumph not only as a period piece or biographical film, but also as a philosophical exploration of the human condition. It addresses the eternal questions related to love, creativity and meaning with grace, but also with depth (…) As George Enescu himself said, ‘the artist reveals to humanity the path to harmony, which is happiness and peace’. Toma Enache's film does exactly that - through its beauty, its depth and the emotional tribute to an artist who lived and loved with passion, we are all reminded of the power of art to illuminate the path to harmony both in life and in love.”
INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF ROME — PRISMA: “Like the notes of a symphony, every moment in Enescu's life intertwines with nuances, pauses and tones that go beyond a simple melody. (...) Just as a symphony is made not only of notes, but also of the distance that separates them, Enescu's existence is built between the shadows of his loves, his losses and the endless search for beauty and truth.”
CINEMIL, Emil Călinescu: “Enescu, flayed alive is more than a film or a concert: it is an EXPERIENCE that you must live.”
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