'The Father Who Moves Mountains' Charts Mircea's Search For His Son — Is It a True Story?
Sep. 20 2021, Published 3:03 p.m. ET
Director Daniel Sandu's second venture, The Father Who Moves Mountains, takes us to the snow-covered Bucegi Mountains in Romania, which quickly turn into the doom-laden backdrop of an anguished father's relentless search for his teenage son.
The nearly two-hour-long drama captures the various shades of despair Mircea Jianu (Adrian Titieni), a retired intelligence officer, has to experience while he and the crew persistently search for Cosmin and his girlfriend, Daniela. Is The Father Who Moves Mountains based on a true story?
Is 'The Father Who Moves Mountains' based on a true story?
Written and directed by Daniel Sandu, The Father Who Moves Mountains explores a father grappling with responsibility — and his attempts to come to terms with the sudden disappearance of his son. Is the Netflix drama based on a true story?
Adrian Titieni plays Mircea, a retired intelligence officer who remarries and is expecting a baby with his second wife, Alina (Judith State). As the search unfolds, he looks at his divorce from his first wife, Paula (Elena Purea), with a fresh perspective.
The Father Who Moves Mountains was inspired by real events, per Cineuropa. The mightily talented writer and director reportedly drew on news stories about missing people in the Romanian mountains.
Per HITC, Daniel might have based the movie on the story of a father who lost his son under similar circumstances. According to the outlet, Daniel learned about the tragedy circa 2009. This information couldn't be corroborated at this time.
'The Father Who Moves Mountains' stars actors Adrian Titieni and Judith State.
Daniel's directorial debut, One Step Behind the Seraphim, revolves around Gabriel (Stefan Iancu), a freshman student on the journey to become a priest. Soon after enrolling, he learns first-hand that morals and principles are one thing — but getting by in the world is another. One Step Behind the Seraphim stars Toto Dumitrescu, Cristian Bota, and the likes.
The Father Who Moves Mountains features Adrian and Elena, who deliver exceptional portrayals of the main characters. Supporting actors include Cristian Bota alongside new faces like Bogdan Nechifor, who previously appeared in The Cardinal, White Gate, and others. Tudor Smoleanu, who starred in the movies Graduation and Chasing Rainbows, also features in the film.
'The Father Who Moves Mountains' was filmed in these beautiful (and dangerous) locations.
The Father Who Moves Mountains was shot near the Bucegi Mountains in Romania, per The Cinemaholic. It took three winters to finish the shooting, as the crew likely had to wait for the right weather conditions before setting up shop at various locations. Their incredible efforts handsomely paid off in the end.
With Tudor Vladimir Panduru serving as the lead cinematographer, The Father Who Moves Mountains takes viewers to a beautiful yet suffocating environment where the stakes are high and every second could spell the difference between life and death.
