Mihai Mincan returns to the 82nd Venice Film Festival, this time in the Orizzonti section with “Milk Teeth,” a film delving into a distinct period of Romanian history. In this interview, Mincan discusses the deeply personal inspiration behind the film, the challenges of working with a child actor, and the crucial role of sound design in creating a pervasive atmosphere of unease.
From gruesome reality to a film about loneliness
Mincan explains that the film’s genesis was a militia dossier from 1989 detailing the disappearance of a young girl. Initially, the idea was to directly adapt the event. However, the actual case was far too gruesome and tragic to translate directly to the screen. Instead, he retained a single, potent image: a girl with a red bucket full of nutshells on her way to the garbage. This seemingly simple image unlocked a flood of memories for Mincan, as he was the same age as the girl in 1989, often sent on similar errands by his parents. This personal connection became the cornerstone of the film.
“I wanted to explore that feeling of rupture, of fragmented time that I felt back then,” Mincan reflects. He emphasizes that this feeling speaks to the anxieties of the world we live in today. Despite the historical setting, “Milk Teeth” ultimately transcends time and place. During the editing process, Mincan and his editor kept returning to a central theme: “This is a film about loneliness.”
The power and intuition of a child performer
Emma Ioana Mogos, who plays the lead role, delivers a remarkably nuanced and captivating performance. Mincan praises her intuitive nature and ability to access emotions authentically. He admits that he initially anticipated challenges in working with a child actor, particularly in a film where she appears in nearly every frame. However, his experience with Mogos proved to be surprisingly rewarding. “It turned out that it’s actually far better to work with children than with adults,” Mincan states.
He attributes this to children’s lack of self-consciousness and their willingness to fully immerse themselves in the role. Despite the gap between Mogos’s childhood in the 2000s and the film’s 1989 setting, she intuitively grasped the universal feeling of loneliness, enriching her portrayal with a depth that belied her age.
A soundscape of unease and quiet threat
The sound design of “Milk Teeth,” crafted in close collaboration with Nicolas Becker and Ange Gupert, plays a crucial role in creating the film’s immersive and unsettling atmosphere. Mincan described to the two French sound designers the unique quietness of his childhood in socialist Romania – a quietness tinged with a dark, threatening undercurrent.
Mincan recounted memories of a world with fewer cars, where the sounds of nature – wind rustling through leaves, distant voices – were still audible. Yet, beneath this apparent tranquility, lurked a sense of unease. “You felt that things are quiet, but it’s not the type of quietness in which you go to this beautiful cabin in the mountains and just hear nature. You can feel that something beneath it, always like a really threatening element there, and that something might erupt at the same time.” Becker and Gupert masterfully translated these evocative descriptions into a soundscape that amplifies the film’s sense of dread and suspense.
Mihai Mincan’s “Milk Teeth” is a powerful and evocative exploration of childhood, memory, and the subtle anxieties of a bygone era. Through its compelling narrative, stunning performances, and haunting sound design, the film promises to be a thought-provoking and unforgettable addition to the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival 2025.
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