The film, California Dreamin', shows the love hate relationship that much of the world has with the United States. America creates a large volume of pop culture in the form of movies, TV shows, music, and fashion trends that endears their culture to much of the world. However, the actions of the American government and military are very heavily criticized on the world stage. As a global superpower the US is expected to handle their foreign affairs delicately. If they act too much they are viewed as overbearing tyrants, and if they act too little people question why America isn't doing more to help out.
The stationmaster, Mr Dolaru, stops a NATO train even though they have permission to cross Romania. It's revealed throughout the film that Dolaru is purposely trying to be an obstruction to the American military. Through flashbacks and dialog the story of Dolaru's early life explains the animosity he has for the Americans. The city where he lived with his family during WWII was frequently bombed by the Germans and his parents repeatedly talked about how the Americans were going to come in and save the day. This never happens. Instead the much harsher Soviet Army drives the Germans out of Romania. In the process they make prisoners of anyone that had any connections with the Nazis, including Dolaru's parents. Dolaru never saw his parents again and blames America for not saving his parents and not being the heroes he thought they should have been. It appears Dolaru idolized the Americans before he lost his parents. His early infatuation probably contributed to him becoming extremely bitter about their lack of involvement in protecting Romania because he saw it as a betrayal. His heroes had let him down and now he hates them.
Dolaru is able to get away with stopping the train for several days because the Romanian government doesn't function very efficiently in this movie. People in various government offices are shown trying to get the proper paperwork that they think will convince Dolaru to let the Americans pass and ultimately failing. This is an interesting role reversal. In the 1940s the American government did not act to help the Romanians in the way they were expected to, and in the in the main events of this film the Romanian government is not helping the Americans in the way they were expected to either. This parallel could serve a few different purposes. Its intent could have been to show that everyone had unrealistic expectations of how much help they were entitled to. Captain Jones expected the Romanian government to let him cross the country without following proper railway protocol, and Dolaru expected the American government to expend resources to specifically save the Romanians during a World War encompassed several nations. Neither party is really justified in expecting the other to cater to them, but, they both get very upset when they don't get their way. Admittedly, they were both in very serious situations, with Dolaru losing his parents and Jones losing military lives in Kosovo, but their expectation of special treatment is setting themselves up for failure. If the NATO train had all the proper paperwork and didn't just expect to be let by because they felt what they were doing was important, Dolaru may not have gone on a personal vendetta against them. Likewise if Dolaru's family had left the city or the country instead of waiting around for the Americans to save them, they likely wouldn't have been captured by the Soviets. The American bomb from WWII that explodes later in movie seems to support the theme that relying too much on others is going to end up coming back to bite you. The Americans never came to save to Romanians but they still dropped a bomb that blew up part of the city and knocked out the power. How much damage would they have done if they had actually come to help?
Most of the people in the town view the American culture as a novelty and treat the American soldiers the same way. They aren't interested in any of the political or military aspects of America. Some of the people in the town, the mayor in particular, don't seem to have any depthful understanding of America. They like Elvis, and they like cowboys, so they like America. That is the extent of their knowledge.
Many of the town's girls are attracted to the American soldiers because they want an American to fall in love with them and take them back to America. That is a fairly unrealistic expectation to have after a five day relationship. Monica has a more realistic understanding that their relationship is not going to work out or last. At the end of the movie she doesn't even give her love interest her phone number when he ask for it, instead drawing a smiley faced sun on his hand instead. At the beginning of the film she is so eager to leave that she sneaks on the American train, but by the end of the film she decided to stay and go to college. It's not entirely clear why she does this. It could be that she just has a better grounding in reality.
The lyrics to song "California Dreamin'" by the Mama's and the Papa's describe a person who is tried to their drab winter setting and spends their time wishing they were under the warm California sun instead. This also accurately describes the way most of the townspeople in Capalnita view America compared to their own home. They view their small town as boring and only think of the exciting and culturally rich aspects when they envision America. This means that a lot of people either have an unwarranted love for America or an unusual amount of disdain when they realize the truth that America isn't all that much different or better than their own country.
The stationmaster, Mr Dolaru, stops a NATO train even though they have permission to cross Romania. It's revealed throughout the film that Dolaru is purposely trying to be an obstruction to the American military. Through flashbacks and dialog the story of Dolaru's early life explains the animosity he has for the Americans. The city where he lived with his family during WWII was frequently bombed by the Germans and his parents repeatedly talked about how the Americans were going to come in and save the day. This never happens. Instead the much harsher Soviet Army drives the Germans out of Romania. In the process they make prisoners of anyone that had any connections with the Nazis, including Dolaru's parents. Dolaru never saw his parents again and blames America for not saving his parents and not being the heroes he thought they should have been. It appears Dolaru idolized the Americans before he lost his parents. His early infatuation probably contributed to him becoming extremely bitter about their lack of involvement in protecting Romania because he saw it as a betrayal. His heroes had let him down and now he hates them.
Dolaru is able to get away with stopping the train for several days because the Romanian government doesn't function very efficiently in this movie. People in various government offices are shown trying to get the proper paperwork that they think will convince Dolaru to let the Americans pass and ultimately failing. This is an interesting role reversal. In the 1940s the American government did not act to help the Romanians in the way they were expected to, and in the in the main events of this film the Romanian government is not helping the Americans in the way they were expected to either. This parallel could serve a few different purposes. Its intent could have been to show that everyone had unrealistic expectations of how much help they were entitled to. Captain Jones expected the Romanian government to let him cross the country without following proper railway protocol, and Dolaru expected the American government to expend resources to specifically save the Romanians during a World War encompassed several nations. Neither party is really justified in expecting the other to cater to them, but, they both get very upset when they don't get their way. Admittedly, they were both in very serious situations, with Dolaru losing his parents and Jones losing military lives in Kosovo, but their expectation of special treatment is setting themselves up for failure. If the NATO train had all the proper paperwork and didn't just expect to be let by because they felt what they were doing was important, Dolaru may not have gone on a personal vendetta against them. Likewise if Dolaru's family had left the city or the country instead of waiting around for the Americans to save them, they likely wouldn't have been captured by the Soviets. The American bomb from WWII that explodes later in movie seems to support the theme that relying too much on others is going to end up coming back to bite you. The Americans never came to save to Romanians but they still dropped a bomb that blew up part of the city and knocked out the power. How much damage would they have done if they had actually come to help?
Most of the people in the town view the American culture as a novelty and treat the American soldiers the same way. They aren't interested in any of the political or military aspects of America. Some of the people in the town, the mayor in particular, don't seem to have any depthful understanding of America. They like Elvis, and they like cowboys, so they like America. That is the extent of their knowledge.
Many of the town's girls are attracted to the American soldiers because they want an American to fall in love with them and take them back to America. That is a fairly unrealistic expectation to have after a five day relationship. Monica has a more realistic understanding that their relationship is not going to work out or last. At the end of the movie she doesn't even give her love interest her phone number when he ask for it, instead drawing a smiley faced sun on his hand instead. At the beginning of the film she is so eager to leave that she sneaks on the American train, but by the end of the film she decided to stay and go to college. It's not entirely clear why she does this. It could be that she just has a better grounding in reality.
The lyrics to song "California Dreamin'" by the Mama's and the Papa's describe a person who is tried to their drab winter setting and spends their time wishing they were under the warm California sun instead. This also accurately describes the way most of the townspeople in Capalnita view America compared to their own home. They view their small town as boring and only think of the exciting and culturally rich aspects when they envision America. This means that a lot of people either have an unwarranted love for America or an unusual amount of disdain when they realize the truth that America isn't all that much different or better than their own country.