Long Journey by Train

In a mixture of hyper realistic images and surrealist visions, Sinisa Dragin provides his view on Rumanian society: mercilessly sharp but without judgement and hence both humorous and human. Even Westerners who think they can buy anything - such as human organs - with their money in Rumania, melt slightly when confronted with true misery. Protagonist Vali is thirty-three and his future does not look too hopeful. Apart from the fact that one of his legs is too short, he also lives in a miserable little apartment with an unhappily married sister and his retired father who doesn't leave the house any more. Vali's bedroom is full of birds in cages, onto which he projects much of his emotions. In order to lead his own life to a certain extent, he rents a tiny room for a fortune he can't really afford. Despite his badly paid job as nightwatchman in a shop, Vali remains optimistic: if he sells one of his kidneys, he will have enough money to escape from the stifling mood and start a new life in Germany. He has also been told that in Russia they can make his leg longer. In a newspaper advertisement he offers his organ for sale, but when a customer really does turn up, he completely loses control of events.