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:
