34/45

This film is a technically well-made complete failure

Tale

During the 1989 Romanian Revolution, Sibiu witnesses a violent attack on a police station, leading to armed clashes between soldiers, police, protesters and the secret police. References Rocky (1976).

I was there during the revolution

It exudes the hallmark of bad acting: the actors are shouting their lines all the time. It is the hallmark of a bad screenplay: no conclusion, no catharsis.

Then came the dictator’s summary trial on Christmas Day (which was later followed by the miners’ revolts, etc)

Everyone was trying to figure out what would happen next in our fate if we ended up in the EU or if the Russians took over. People were trying to figure out if their friends were alive, if they would still have jobs the next day.

A slapstick comedy with historically accurate staging

None of this was the subject of the film. The marketing machinery behind it and the official support made for a sold-out theater.

Not even on the same level as well-executed modern Romanian thrillers like Boss (2023)

This is not yet on the same level as the new Romanian cinema that created European cinema in previous years (4-3-2, Beyond the Hills, Aferim, etc.).