I was going through a movie marathon when I started this article. I thought I’d seen something in Ghenea’s performance, then I wasn’t so sure. And time passed.

I kept postponing watching this movie, for many reasons, one of them being that I only knew it has a 7+ rating on IMDB and there’s Michael Caine in it. When I finally watched, I cannot say I got the same sense of wonder I did back when I watched the other Sorrentino’s creations, “La Grande Bellezza” or this must be the place. I also didn’t realize it’s one of his movies right away – I like to “guess” the directors so I always try to avoid, where possible, knowing them in advance.

The above is about as much as I had written when the article, scheduled to publish in the hope I’ll finish it before then, self-published, and it stayed this way for quite a long time, until a friend (who calls me her “very good Rumanian baby friend”) messaged me on WhatsApp, causing me to finish it.

I was surprised to recognize Madalina Ghenea as Miss World, but in the end, that excitement gave way to disappointment. My first impression is that the director didn’t work too hard to get her lines right, which is important for a debutante. Rather than make her seem intelligent through her delivery, Sorrentino’s seemed to rely on Harvey Keitel’s observation to create that impression.

Turns out that this movie is not her debut on the big screen. I noticed her back when she appeared in Ramazzoti’s clip, back in 2009, then forgot her name, then re-remembered via a tip on Tumblr. Since then, she’s been in I soliti idioti (2011) as Smutandissima (strip-tease, hot channel), Razza bastarda (2012) as Dorina, Dom Hemingway (2013) with Jude Law as Paolina, and even in the TV series Borgia (2014) as Dorotea Malatesta (1497-1501). I haven’t seen any of these , and probably won’t be seeing her in Zoolander 2 when it will be released either, because I can’t stand Ben Stiller. As for Smitten!, she tops the cast, so I might.

She’s also been with Gerard Butler and Fassbender, whom you’ve recently seen as Steve Jobs. There have even been less-than-credible reports that the latter may have bent her fass. Lately, what we get from Instagram is a rather dim look on love, whatever that means.

A photo posted by Madalina Diana Ghenea (@officialmadalinaghenea) on Dec 28, 2015 at 9:37am PST

And that’s important, because such movies (i.e., movies where sexuality is emphasized) often have a lasting impact on an actress. For instance, I remember reading how Kim Basinger felt happy and “grew as a person” most during her 9 1/2 Weeks days. Likewise, Ada Condeescu had some good words to say about Loverboy, where she plays a “good girl” seduced into prostitution.

Finally, let me address a recent fuck-up in the Romanian press involving Madalina Ghenea. In short, they misread the caption of an interview she gave a few years back where she tells the Italian press what her parents think – namely, that back in Old Romania everybody had something to eat and there wasn’t today’s huge gap between the rich and the poor.

Referitor la comentariile aparute in spatiul public din Romania ca urmare a preluarii unui interviu acordat de mine revistei GQ Italia, doresc sa fac unele precizari:

• ⁃ interviul respectiv a fost acordat si a aparut in publicatia din Italia in anul 2012! Nu e, deci, un inteviu actual, iar declaratia preluata de presa din Romania nu e insotita, asa cum ar fi fost firesc, si de intrebarea care precede raspunsul. Daca s-ar fi intamplat asa, s-ar fi putut constata ca nu e vorba despre parerea mea despre subiect - ar fi fost si greu sa am o parere avizata tinand cont ca aveam doar doi ani la Revolutie - ci despre ce cred parintii mei referitor la acest subiect!
• ⁃ Am fost o eleva de nota 10 (chiar daca muncesc de la 14 ani) si am fost suficient de pasionata de istoria Romaniei cat sa inteleg cat de dur si de opresiv a fost regimul Ceausescu pentru romani. Cu toate acestea, cred ca opinia parintilor mei - ca, privind inapoi, viata parea mai buna, din anumite puncte de vedere, inainte de '89 - este impartasita de o buna parte a celor din generatia lor, cum cred si faptul ca pentru generatia mea lucrurile sunt total diferite. Ca sa fiu sincera, acest tip de nostalgie e din ce in ce mai puternic printre cei din generatia 50+ din multe dintre tarile din zona (si nu numai). E memoria lor selectiva? Sigur ca da, dar cand banii devin asa o problema pentru cei din generatia parintilor mei, parca nu mai sunt atat de condamnabili in ochii opiniei publice cand prefera sa-si aduca aminte doar partile bune ale unei bucati din viata lor.
• ⁃ In incheiere, as vrea sa-i invit pe toti cei care s-au aratat atat de interesati de acest subiect sa-si puna o intrebare si sa-i gaseasca raspuns: de ce nu discutam public, la fel de pasional, cat de ingrijorator este faptul ca avem azi din ce in ce mai multi nostalgici ai epocii comuniste, oameni care considera ca pana si o viata de privatiuni si opresiune e mai buna decat vremurile pe care le traiesc astazi? Nu ar trebui sa discutam si acest lucru? Pentru ca - parerea mea, de data aceasta - sigur generatia de azi greseste undeva daca pentru parintii mei si cei asemenea lor memoria trecutului e atat de buna! @latifahgabriela @zoeparis18

A photo posted by Madalina Diana Ghenea (@officialmadalinaghenea) on Dec 30, 2015 at 9:36am PST

Like I said before, poor people were better off in Ceausescu’s time – that’s a simple fact.

Sources / More info: wiki-ghenea, wiki-sorrentino, imdb-youth, newsgo-youth, imdb-ghenea, insta-ghenea, nyt-how912