''Lăutarii'' (russian: Лаутары) is a 1972

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

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

Emil Loteanu Emil Vladimirovich Loteanu (6 November 1936 – 18 April 2003) was a Romanian-Soviet film director born in what is now Moldova. He moved to Moscow in his early life. His best known films are '' Lăutarii'', ''Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven'', '' A ...

. The movie was a success, particularly in Italy. The film received the Special Jury Award at the

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in ...

in 1972. The film also received the prestigious Spanish San Fedele prize in 1978.

Plot

Toma Alistar is a gifted lăutar who works as the leader of a traveling gypsy band, wandering the steppes of the mid-nineteenth century

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of ...

. He is a skilled violinist whose fame takes him on tours around European capitals and royal courts. He falls madly in love with the beautiful gypsy Leanca. However, she is marrying a rich Hungarian. Toma spends the rest of life and his fortunes in a desperate search for her. And only before his death he meets an old gypsy woman in whom he recognizes his one true love.

Cast

*Sergei Lunchevici as Toma Alistar *Dumitru Hăbășescu as young Toma *Jenea Rolko as Toma as a child *Galina Vodniațkaia as old Leanca *Olga Câmpeanu as young Leanca *Angelica Iașcencu as Leanca as a child

References

External links

* 1972 films 1972 romantic drama films Soviet romantic drama films Russian romantic drama films Soviet-era Moldovan films Moldovan drama films 1970s Romanian-language films Films about violins and violinists Fictional representations of Romani people Films directed by Emil Loteanu 1970s Soviet films {{Moldova-film-stub