Due to a lack of employment opportunities in Romania, Adrian decides to leave to work in Italy, not imagining the impact this choice could have on his relationship with his wife Monika. Rekindling their former love is the aspiration of the main characters in the competition film By the Rails, which was directed by representative of the "Romanian New Wave" Cătălin Mitulescu.
The film is very modest in terms of dialogue, but the chemistry between the central couple is palpable. "When I read the script I knew the director didn't want it to be clear right away what exactly had happened, but for our relationship to be somewhat mysterious. We're often both on stage together and not saying anything to each other. It's as if it were Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, full of magic, tension and emotion," said Ada Condeescu, who plays Monika.
The director Mitulescu admits that a certain ironic commentary on stereotypes plays a role in the film: "I wanted the main character to come home as a foreigner. When a Romanian goes to Italy, they start to call him Rumeno, and he takes on a new life, a new identity. Then Romanians at home start to treat him differently, making fun of him. Distance is created. In my film, Romania is meant to be portrayed the way it is in real life. I wanted to show the power that would pull the main character back to his native country."
The environment plays an important role in the film. The rails that Adrian and Monika have right behind their house influence the rhythm of the movie. "I associate trains with a state of meditation. Before it passes you feel an energy. It elicits a feeling of presence in you and you also think more about the passage of time," the director said on the question of why she placed her story near the rails.
