| Lăutarii | |
| Director: | Emil Loteanu |
| Producer: | N. Paliy |
| Music: | Eugen Doga Isidor Burdin |
| Cinematography: | Vitali Kalashnikov |
| Editing: | V. Slavich-Dimitriu |
| Studio: | Moldova Film |
| Distributor: | International Film Exchange (IFEX) |
| Runtime: | 141 minutes |
| Country: | Soviet Union, Moldova |
| Language: | Russian, Romanian |
Lăutarii (Russian: Лаутары) is a 1972 Soviet romantic musical film directed by Emil Loteanu. The movie was a success, particularly in Italy. The film received the Special Jury Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 1972.[1] The film also received the prestigious Spanish San Fedele prize in 1978.[2]
Toma Alistar is a gifted lăutar who works as the leader of a traveling gypsy band, wandering the steppes of the mid-nineteenth century Bessarabia. He is a skilled violinist whose fame takes him on tours around European capitals and royal courts. He falls madly in love with the beautiful gypsy Leanca. However, she is marrying a rich Hungarian. Toma spends the rest of life and his fortunes in a desperate search for her. And only before his death he meets an old gypsy woman in whom he recognizes his one true love.