Generally, most people would like foreigners to like their country, but most people can’t control what their fellow countrymen have done abroad, good or otherwise. And while now these opinions are relegated to most only on online spaces, there are some incidents when this actually affects real world crises. California Dreamin’ is based on the real life delay of NATO forces during the Kosovo War, but it’s less concerned with the actual war, and more concerned about the village itself, and their perspective on the NATO troops intruding in their way of life. Co-writer and director Cristian Nemescu depicts this event with a slice-of-life approach, with the culture clash between American soldiers and Romanian village folk forming most of the comedy, but it never forgets the way American aid was once requested but denied in black-and-white memories of World War II. While the length and editing wasn’t completed due to the death of Nemescu, Nesfârșit still keeps its edge, slicing through satire the difficult dynamic between the two countries.
"It could use a trim, but only rarely does it strain for effect, and, for a young man, Nemescu was uncannily versed in the emotions of middle age."
— Anthony Lane
1999. Kosovo War. In a small Romanian village, the chief of the railway station, who also happens to be a local gangster, stops a NATO train transporting military equipment. Their arrival in this small village dramatically changes its landscape.
Oltenia, Romania, 1999. A shipment of weapons for NATO forces for the Kosovo War stops in the village railway station, though the train station chief Doiaru refuses to let them pass with incomplete papers.
The Elvis impersonator in the party – it’s one of the few instances where both the Amercan troops and Romanian people are relatively happy, much to the consternation of the train station chief.
Rest in peace, Cristian Nemescu.
