– BERLINALE 2026: It’s time for a big little journey in Paul Negoescu’s odyssey about a missing left shoe – and love of football
Edith Mild Kesesztúri and Matei Donciu in Atlas of the Universe
That’s childhood in a nutshell: the smallest things can feel so, so big. In Paul Negoescu’s simple yet charming Atlas of the Universe, screening in Berlinale’s Generation Kplus section, all problems – or distances – may seem insignificant. To an adult, that is. To little Filip (Matei Donciu), it feels like the end of the world.
And to think that his day actually started well: he’s finally getting new shoes. His mother can’t join him, so, although he’s only 10, he’s trusted with money. Dad can’t have it because, as mum diplomatically puts it, “he might lose it.” Or rather, spend it on beer with his buddies. Even without extra funding, Dad gets immediately sidetracked by one of them (he’s buying, you see) and Filip has to act – now. Terrified they won’t make it to town in time, he decides to go there on his own.
This is when the film begins to really capture a feeling that becomes difficult to recapture later in life: how something ordinary can feel like a massive adventure. Filip’s trip to town is his first taste of independence. At first, he does well: he doesn’t accept rides from strangers and quickly buys the shoes, as instructed. Then he gets some unexpected change back and everything goes to hell after one ice-cream. The pair he just bought? They’re two right shoes, the last ones in his size. Someone has taken another box earlier: a woman who lives far away.
That is all the information he needs; suddenly, Filip is on a mission. In his mind, he has no real choice – his mum told him not to come back without the shoes. What follows is a little road movie populated by helpful strangers who tape up his rapidly deteriorating footwear and even add a butterfly sticker on it, strange places, and a dog Filip instantly names Mbappé, after Real Madrid’s star. The film ultimately becomes a gentle reflection on the lengths people – or, who am I kidding, mostly men – will go to for football.
It is a lovely adventure, although some parents will probably break into a sweat imagining their own child setting off alone in this way. Negoescu delivers just the right amount of sweetness – people here are mostly kind, yet matter-of-fact – and never mocks Filip’s quiet determination. He is lonely in his predicament and his family is not well-off; in fact, nobody in this film really is. He seems to understand that an opportunity like this – brand-new shoes! – does not come easily, and he refuses to let it slip away, bus or no bus. This kid is going places.
Atlas of the Universe was produced by Romania’s deFilm, in co-production with Bulgaria’s Screening Emotions. Germany’s Pluto Film handles international sales.
