Filantropica
| Filantropica | |
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| Directed by | Nae Caranfil |
| Produced by |
Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre |
| Written by | Nae Caranfil |
| Starring |
Mircea Diaconu Gheorghe Dinică Mara Nicolescu |
| Music by | Marius Mihalache |
| Cinematography | Vivi Drăgan Vasile |
| Distributed by |
MediaPro Pictures Swift Distribution |
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Release date
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Running time
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110 minutes |
| Country | Romania |
| Language | Romanian |
Filantropica (alternate spellings Philantropica, Philanthropy, Philantropique) is a 2002 Romanian dark comedy film directed by Nae Caranfil.
Ovidiu Gorea is a jaded, mid-40s, high-school teacher and novice writer, still living with his parents. He has just published a collection of short stories called 'Nobody Dies For Free', that the bookstores reject because no one buys it.
The high school principal asks him to deal with a problem-student, Robert. Ovidiu has Robert call one of his parents for talks, but the boy sends his sister, Diana, a gorgeous teenager, instead. Ovidiu is smitten. He convinces Diana to go on a date with him, but what he thinks will be a quiet evening over coffee turns into a bar-hopping binge that leaves him nearly broke.
One night, he meets a shabby-looking drunk beggar who offers to recite poems in exchange for vodka. The two start talking and Ovidiu learns that the guy makes two or three times more money than him in a month out of this. He asks for an explanation and the beggar refers him to the Filantropica Foundation.
Located in a desolate basement, the Filantropica Foundation is actually the lair of Bucharest's beggars' leader, Pavel Puiuţ. A former convict, he realized that begging leads nowhere "unless there is a touching story behind the hand that begs", so he created an organized network of beggars, each with an invented, tear-jerking, background story that yields millions. Puiuţ listens to Ovidiu's story and thinks he is perfect for his new "project".
He pairs Ovidiu with Miruna, his secretary, and sends them to high-profile restaurants, where, in collusion with a waiter, they pose as a couple of poor teachers celebrating their wedding anniversary who find, at the end of their dinner, that they don't have enough money to cover the check; Ovidiu is responsible with making a scene that would strike a chord with one of the rich people present, who would pick up their check out of pity; later, out in the back, Ovidiu, Miruna and the waiter would split the money.
After several such performances, Ovidiu makes enough money to impress the material Diana. He rents a roadster, takes her to lakeshore clubs, his sole purpose being sleeping with her. The reluctant Puiuţ even gives him access to the foundation's "show-house" (a day-rental house meant to impress third parties), but a poorly timed customer call gives Ovidiu's cover away and an angry Diana leaves him.
Meanwhile, Miruna falls for her partner in crime and is angry that he keeps "bitching" about that "bimbo", instead of going for a "real woman". She manages to get him into her bed and Ovidiu is surprised to find out she is a former prostitute.
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