Acclaimed Romanian actor Marcel Iures will dig into a series of unanswered enigmas arising from the Romania’s history, geology, castles, who-done-it crimes, celestial lights, mental derangements and hidden religious rites.
The episodes explore mysteries and enigmas from Romania’s history, in a blend of cinematic re-enactments, dialogues with experts on the matter or people close to the case one way or the other. Decently written, well filmed, it’s not a masterpiece, but it’s nice to see these stories getting some screen time. Four popcorns.
Episode 1: The Brukenthal Museum Robbery
Romania in 1968 was better guarded than Alcatraz. No one moved a stick in the country without the Secret Services being informed. And the Bruckenthal Museum in Sibiu was one of the hotspots monitored by the dictator Ceausescu s Secret Service (the Securitate). Under these conditions, 8 very valuable paintings were stolen and taken out of the country. 55 years later, nobody knows what happened. Only 4 of them were found, in USA and President Emil Constantinescu took them back, with the help of Bill Clinton and the World Bank. How did the paintings end up in USA? Who stole them? How were they transported over the borders of two communist counties? (Romania and Hungary) Where are the other four paintings? What the police found out? Who are the main suspects? These are only a few of the questions.
Really nice episode about a story that I didn’t even know it happened.
My take:
Episode 2: The Miracle from Maglavit
Was it a fraud, or was it God talking to the people through a deaf -mute shepherd? In the summer of 1935, over 2 million people left for Maglavit to see God. To talk to him. To be healed. All the newspapers talked about Maglavit, a poor village in Oltenia, where the shepherd Petrache Lupu claimed to have seen and talked to God. And then, started, as a deaf-mute to speak to crowds of hundreds of thousands of people. There were only a few newspapers and most of population that didn’t know how to read. However, it turned into a pilgrimage of the masses, compared to Lourdes. A wasteful amount of money was collected from donations and people claimed to have been cured of serious illnesses. Where is the money? Was Petrache Lupu a saint or a fraud? Was the whole movement put down by moguls or was it something saint oppressed by war and communists?
Another story that I didn’t know about, combined with seeing Gigi Becali in the role of “philantropist”. Lmao.
My take:
Episode 3: The Death of Mihai Eminescu
Was Mihai Eminescu killed, was he the victim of a political complot, the victim of the malpraxis or he really died because of the syphilis and serious mental illness? Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889) is the most famous and influential Romanian poet and journalist. He is described as a genius. At the age of 33 he was hospitalised in a mental asylum. On the same day, Romania was changing its allies, something vehemently criticized by the very influent journalist, Eminescu. He died 6 years later, but during this time he was many times hospitalized by his friends who supported the country s new foreign policy orientation. The conspiracy theories start from the mercury treatment that was administered to him during the 6 years.
I like this episode because it reaches stuff that they don’t tell you in school about the guy that’s considered one of the best poets in Romanian literature. Loved the cinematic re-enactments.
My take:
Episode 4: The Ostara Yacht Mystery
In 1920, in the Black Sea, near the Danube Delta, a yacht full of gold belonging to a family of very influent and rich Russian nobles ran aground. The victims were fleeing the Bolsheviks. 11 or 13 were found dead on board, most of them shot. The bodies of two other nobles were washed ashore by the waves, two months later. The boat was full of gold, money, and jewellery which were never found. The family tried to convince the fishermen and the border police to help them get to the shore. But it never happened. Instead, all of them were found dead. The documents disappeared, as well as the treasure. What happened to the treasure? Were the nobles killed for it? Did the commit group-suicide? These are only a few questions we are trying to answer.
Rich people turn out dead and their wealth turns out missing. Tale as old as time.
My take:
Episode 5: Elisabeth Bathory and Julia Hasdeu
Countess Elisabeth Bathory also known as the Blood Countess, was a Hungarian noblewoman. After her husband’s death in 1604, rumours began to circulate about her involvement in the torture and killing of young girls, because bathing in the blood of virgins would preserve her youth and beauty. She was accused of killing dozens to hundreds of maids, but nobody could prove that. According to the speculations, she put the young girls in a cage, from where they were wounded and bled. Their blood was used for the skin of the countess. According to other sources, the story was invented by King Matias who was in debt to the countess. Sentencing her to death would help the King seize her wealth. Almost the same happened to Anna Bathory, her aunt, also rich and powerful, she was judged for the same accusations, and even more: witchcraft and incest. Were they both victims of a complot, of the fake news, or the most ruthless serial killers?
This episode was a weird one. I was the most excited about it, because it treated the story of the Julia Hasdeu castle (which I’ve written about before), but it only talks a bit about it. The rest of the episode is about the Bathory family drama, which doesn’t connect that much to the Hasdeu family, nor Romania.
My take:
Episode 6: Vlad the Impaler
Everybody heard about Dracula. A bloody character inspired by the historian figure of the Wallachian prince Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler). He is the most famous Romanian warrior who fought against the Ottomans. There are 5 theories about the place he was buried in. We would need Sherlock to find out where is the grave. How did he die? Who killed him? We tried to find out all the answers from people who made a goal to study his life, from the archaeologists who searched for his grave in 1933 and in 1972. Here is what we found out.
Interesting little episode about one of the greatest rulers of Wallachia and the mysteries that outlive him and are puzzling even to this day.
My take:
