Ion

A significant and recognized work of the writer is the novel Ion. Ion is a social novel written by Liviu Rebreanu and published in 1920. Liviu Rebreanu is the creator of the modern Romanian novel, because he writes the first objective novel in Romanian literature, "Ion" and the first psychological analysis novel in Romanian prose, "The Forest Of The Hanged".

Ion is the first objective novel in Romanian literature, being published in 1920, after a long period of elaboration, as the author himself mentions at the end of the work, between March 1913 - July 1920. The publication of the novel aroused a real enthusiasm in the era , especially since nothing of the short story creation until then announced this spectacular evolution: “Nothing published before could make us predict the admirable development of a writer, who began and continued for about ten years, not only without brilliance , but also without indications for the future ", noted Eugen Lovinescu. The critic receives the novel Ion as a success of Romanian literature, and his satisfaction is recorded in the study “Objective creation. Liviu Rebreanu: Ion ”. For the initiator of Romanian modernism, whose basic principle was the synchronism of Romanian literature with the European one, the novel Ion is the one who "solves a problem and ends a controversy". This statement by Lovinescu refers to the fact that the appearance of the first objective novel directs Romanian literature towards European value and extinguishes the controversy that the critic had with the sowers of the time.

The voice of the earth

The novel begins with the description of the road leading to the village of Pripas, which is reached by "the road coming from Cârlibaba, accompanying Someș" to Cluj, from which follows "a white road above Armadia" and after he leaves Jidovița behind, "the road climbs first with difficulty until it makes its way through the narrow hills (...), then turns abruptly under the Devil's Gorges, to break into the Pripas village hidden between a few hills". At the entrance of the village, "you are greeted (...) by a crooked cross on which is crucified a Christ with his face washed from the rain and with a wreath of flowers hanging from his feet." The image is symbolically resumed not only at the end of the novel, but also in the action, in the auction of the teacher's furniture, suggesting the tragic fate of Ion and Ana, as well as the tense life and troubles of the other characters: Titu, Zaharia Herdelea, Ioan Belciug, Vasile Baciu, George Bulbuc etc.

The action of the novel begins on a Sunday, in which all the inhabitants of the village of Pripas are gathered at the traditional choir, in the court of Todosia, the widow of Maxim Oprea. There are also the village leaders, the family of the teacher Herdelea, the priest Belciug, the former teacher - the Tolstoyan Simion Butunoiu - and the “bocotani” who honor the holiday with their presence. Hora is a memorable ethnographic page through the traditional game, the vigor of the lads and the candor of the girls, through the lute of the gypsies who compose the image of an impetuous rhythm: “The ground trumps the players. Dozens of couples beat someșana with such passion that the horses 'horseshoes escape the sparks, the girls' feet bulge, and the dove on the floor swirls, settles in thick layers on sweat-stained faces, lit by fatigue and contentment.

Ion likes Florica, but Ana has land, so he sweet-talks to her, to the despair of Vasile Baciu, Ana's father, who quarrels with Ion and makes him laugh at the village, calling him a poor man. Alexandru Glanetașu, Ion's father, squandered Zenobia's dowry, which she had had when she married him. Vasile Baciu, a worthy man of the village, had also married Ana's mother for a fortune, but being diligent he had increased his fortune and was thinking of securing a dowry for the girl when she got married.

Ion, a hard-working and proud but poor young man, dishonors Ana and thus forces Vasile Baciu to marry her together with part of the land. By obtaining wealth, Ion acquires social status, human dignity and the satisfaction of his own pride.

On the other hand, the teacher's family Herdelea is in trouble. Herdelea had built her house on the lot belonging to the church, with the consent of the priest Belciug. The teacher's relationship with the priest deteriorates over time, so Herdelea fears that she may lose all agony and her family will be left on the road. Priest Belciug, who has been a widower since the first year, has a strong personality, is the most respected and feared man in the village, having total authority over the entire community.

In the village, the mentality prevails that people are respected if they have some agony, which makes social relations tense between the poor and the "bocotani", between the thoughtfulness of the joints and the recklessness of the passions, which makes it permanent - a fierce struggle for existence.

The destinies of the characters are determined by this mentality, by the fact that the families are not based on feelings, but on economic interests: “In the peasant society, the woman represents two arms of work, a dowry and a producer of children. Once the erotic crisis is over, it ceases to mean anything to femininity. Ana's fate is worse, but much different from that of any woman, no ”(G. Călinescu). Beaten by her father and husband, Ana, left without moral support, disoriented and rejected by all, hanged herself. Florica, abandoned by Ion, marries George and enjoys the luck she has, even though she still loved Ion.

The voice of love

Married to Ana and settled in his house, Ion, because of his passionate nature, cannot be satisfied with the fortune he had acquired and covets Florica. Ion's end is near, being killed by George Bulbuc, who catches him falling in love with his wife, so Rebreanu proposes a passionate crime for the end of the passionate Ion.

The end of the novel captures the village gathered on the feast of the consecration of the new church, describes the road that leaves the village of Pripas, life following its natural course: “Pripas barely showed a few more houses. Only the tower turns, then bends, then stretches, and straight as a gray ribbon in the cool twilight. (...) The village remained the same, as if nothing had changed. Some people went out, others took their place. (...) The road passes through Jidovița, on the wooden bridge, covered, over Someș, and then it gets lost in the main road and without a start ... ”.

The film "The Curse of the Earth - The Curse of Love", also known as the "Curse of the Earth, the Curse of Love" or "Ion: The Curse of the Earth, the Curse of Love", is a screenplay based on the novel Ion by Liviu Rebreanu which premiered on April 14, 1980.

Other screenings of his works:

The forest of the hanged

The Forest of the Hanged is a 1964 screenplay of the novel of the same name by the Romanian writer Liviu Rebreanu. Directed by Liviu Ciulei, it was the first Romanian film to obtain wide international recognition. In 1966 he won the "Première Oeuvre" category at the Cannes Film Festival.

Ciuleandra

Ciuleandra is a Romanian-West German psychological film from 1985, directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu according to a screenplay that adapted the novel of the same name by the Romanian writer Liviu Rebreanu. The main roles are played by the actors Ștefan Iordache, Gheorghe Cozorici, Ion Rițiu and Anca Szönyi.