25 April 2019

Stejarii Verzi – Green Oaks


Stejarii Verzi (Green Oaks) is a 2003 short directed by Swiss/Romanian Ruxandra Zenide.  It is set in an orphanage in rural Romania called Green Oaks which is under-resourced but has a relaxed atmosphere.  George, aged about 10 or 11, is not a model pupil but he is fiercely loyal to his 5-year old sister Gabi.  However, one day an affluent Swiss couple arrive to adopt her.  To their surprise they learn that she is not eligible for adoption due to the government policy of not splitting siblings, but she and George have different fathers hence different surnames, and this has led to the bureaucratic mistake in Bucharest.

The couple are offered another child but complain it would mean a two-year wait while the application was processed, and as they have driven halfway across Europe they are keen to take Gabi, for whom they have the correct paperwork, even if it means splitting up the children.  To circumvent the ‘no sibling’ rule they are prepared to bribe the director, and he is willing to oblige.  Getting wind of the scheme from a staff member who does not want to be party to the agreement, even if complying means enough money for her to leave, George takes Gabi at night into the woods.  Not trusting the director to do the right thing, his plan is to go to Bucharest to tell the government they have made a mistake. 

However, in the cold weather and a long way from the railway station, he realises his plan is unfeasible.  After they have spent the night in a rough shelter where Gabi has become fractious, he secretly returns to the orphanage.  He is persuaded by the sympathetic staff member to take the Swiss woman, who has been having qualms about splitting the pair up, into the woods where he retrieves Gabi.  The woman smilingly watches his tenderness towards her.  However, the final scene shows George watching the car drive away, bearing Gabi off to a better life in Switzerland.

It is a desperately sad conclusion, but a predictable one.  The Swiss couple would not want George as he is too old and less easily moulded, and although they are aware Gabi will remember her brother, they are prepared to put their own interests first.  She becomes a commodity they and the director are willing to trade.  As for George, you wonder what life has in store for him, with his far fewer prospects.  Having the maturity to realise his sister would have more opportunities in Switzerland, he is being unselfish, yet it would be surprising if there was not some envy mixed with the dejection at their separation.  The viewer is left hoping that one day the two will be reunited.

The documentary is available from Cinepub on YouTube, with English-language subtitles.  Cinepub’s page on the film, with a link, is here: