Scarred Hearts

In 1937, Emanuel is diagnosed with bone tuberculosis and is confined to Carmen Sylva, a marine sanatorium near the Black Sea. After the head doctor gleefully removes a pus-filled abscess while puffing on a cigarette, Emanuel is soon encased in a heavy body cast, and must spend all of his hours confined to his bed. A highly intelligent young man in his early twenties with a penchant for quoting poetry and philosophy, Emanuel tries to live life to its fullest in this Magic Mountain-like setting – keeping up his good humour, arguing over politics with anti-Semites and falling in love with Solange, a recovered former patient sporting a leg brace. But is it only a matter of time until he, like many other of his fellow patients, becomes resigned to his fate?

Based on the autobiographical writings of Jewish Romanian author, Max Blecher, Radu Jude’s (Aferim!) eerily gorgeous Scarred Hearts premiered at the 2016 Locarno Film Festival.