Faith and Freedom Put to the Test in Octav Chelaru’s Feature Debut ‘A Higher Law’
variety.comChristopher Vourlias A torrid encounter between a troubled youth and the wife of the village priest is at the center of Octav Chelaru’s “A Higher Law,” which bowed at the Thessaloniki Film Festival last fall and will have its domestic premiere in the main competition at the Transilvania Film Festival.Inspired by true events, the film is a powerful exploration of religious dogma that raises larger questions about the nature of freedom and faith.
The feature debut of Chelaru, a self-taught director whose previous short films, “Black Clothes” and “The Parallel State,” premiered in the Leopards of Tomorrow competition at the Locarno Film Festival, it’s produced by Radu Stancu of Bucharest-based deFilm Production, in co-production with 42film and EED Productions. “A Higher Law” stars Mălina Manovici as Ecaterina, a religion teacher at the local high school and the frustrated wife of the village priest (Alexandru Papadopol).
Hemmed in by her obligations to her family and the community, she suddenly finds her world upended by the arrival of 16-year-old Iuliu (Sergiu Smerea), a new arrival in town with a troubled but mysterious past.
Before long Ecaterina’s life is spinning out of control, as Iuliu’s increasingly dangerous infatuation tests her faith and threatens to pull her family apart.Born in a small town close to Romania’s border with Moldova, Chelaru was “brought up in a conservative place with set beliefs,” where the teachings of the Eastern Orthodox church loomed large.
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