Sergiu Niculescu is indeed quite a famous Romanian director. He actually got most of his fame by shooting war movies during the Ceaucescu area and he seems to have been quite good at it. He is now a controversial old man, a Senator and his word is key in funding Romanian movies with public money.<br /><br />In Orient Express his character is played by two actors (himself) and Dan Bitman (the younger character) who is a well-know rock-star in Romania. The all plot is just an amazing example of self-praise and narcissism. No less than 4 women are actually in love with the Niculescu-character. The dialogs and shooting are flat and static. Barely any camera moves except for one or two traveling.<br /><br />The film fails to capture the audience. When I watched it, the public laugh during the most pathetic/romantic moments...<br /><br />The film recalls the spirit of a Niculescu earlier film: Ultima Noapte de Dragoste, shot in 1979.<br /><br />The only interesting part is the lovely Miclauseni castle located closed to Iasi (North-Est Romania) where part of the movie has been shot.