Dan Nutu Movies
The Working Girls in this New York-based film are laboring away at the World's Oldest Profession. Molly (Louise Smith), a Yale grad whos lives with her lesbian lover, turns tricks to keep food on the table. She approaches each day with fear and loathing, carrying out her responsibilities with crisp, businesslike efficiency. Her coworkers include Gina (Marussia Zach), who hopes to stay a hooker just long enough to finance her own business, and Dawn (Amanda Goodwin), an outspoken college student who harbors dreams of becoming a lawyer. The film covers a single day in the lives of these three ladies, neither judging nor apologizing: a job's a job, the film seems to be saying, whether it's punching a clock or rolling in the sack with an elderly stranger. Director Lizzie Borden's matter-of-fact approach to her material (based on six months' worth of interviewing genuine prostitutes) places Working Girls head and shoulders above the usual lachrymose "ladies of the evening" drama. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louise Smith, Ellen McElduff, (more)
- 1986
- R
Klaus Maria Brandauer stars in this drama as Alek Neuman, a one-time boxing champion in the Soviet Union. While he was one of the top-ranked Russian fighters of his day, he was never allowed to box in the Olympics, because the Soviets would not permit Jews to compete on their national teams. Many years later, an elderly Alek is able to emigrate to the United States; he settles in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York, where he makes ends meet as a dishwasher. Alek is depressed and starts sinking into alcoholism until he meets Timmy Boyle (Adrian Pasdar) and Roland Jenkins (Wesley Snipes), two up-and-coming amateur boxers. Alek thinks that the two young fighters have potential, and he offers to coach them. While Timmy and Roland aren't sure at first if they trust Alek (or each other), in time they grow to respect each other, and it looks as if they may make the United States Olympic team -- where they may fight against the Russian team that wouldn't accept Alek years before. Brandauer won critical acclaim for his performance in Streets of Gold, which also featured Wesley Snipes several years before his breakthrough role in Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Maria Brandauer, Adrian Pasdar, (more)
- 1973
Bad luck and bad judgment follow two generations of men in this Rumanian tragedy, set in the World War II era. Ion (Dan Nutu) seeks to find out why many years ago his father was falsely accused of being a communist, an accusation which led to his execution. He discovers that his father's mistress, now married to a wealthy man, made the accusation for money, as she was deathly afraid of poverty. Ion's own girlfriend seems to be similarly concerned about issues of livelihood, and abandons him for a richer suitor. Frustrated and angry, he burns down these couple's houses and takes up with some anti-communist arms smugglers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
A group of construction workers build a railroad line to the electric power plant. Their lives, loneliness and frustrations are depicted as they live their lives around the needs of their state-sponsored supervisors. Redea is the foreman who stays with a young widow and her teenage son. The boy looks up to Redea, who enjoys drinking with the woman's father-in-law. Soon the lives of the workers are uprooted to move on to the next job in this touching drama containing several human and humorous passeges. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ilarion Ciobanu, Margareta Pogonat, (more)
- 1966
The wife of an architect has an affair with her husband's friend in this routine romantic drama. The incident causes the husband to reflect on his life as he considers leaving his wife and her teenage son. The man feels attached to the boy even though he is not the boy's father, which further clouds his decision. The feature contains some choppy editing in this story of one man's alienation and his attempts to resolve his problems. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margareta Pogonat, Dan Nutu, (more)
- 1965
Anca (Irina Petrescu) and Radu (Dan Nulu) manage to fall in love in spite of the Nazi occupation of Rumania in this World War II romantic drama. Flashbacks are used but tend to blur the past, present, and future as a result. As their love grows, the war escalates and traps them, like millions of others, into the bloody conflict that they are helpless to avoid. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Irina Petrescu, Dan Nutu, (more)
