Libertate (Freedom) [2023]

 Revolutions, once shorn of the allure of romanticism, can be bloody, messy and grimy affairs, and that’s the first thing that one notices in Tudor Giurgiu’s thrilling film Libertate, which takes us right into its violent, chaotic and unpredictable midst. What one also notices is the director’s audacious gambit in filming with an absurdly large ensemble cast that must’ve necessitated meticulous orchestration while rendering the madness. In a country obsessed with episodes from the Ceausescu era, the dictator’s fall from power – the only one among the “Revolutions of 1989” that experienced violence – and its immediate aftermaths, it’s certainly not easy to find new stories; Giurgiu surprisingly succeeded in that. This ironically titled work – contrary to the rousing sentiments it alludes to, the film is anything but triumphal – chronicled the brutal confrontation that ensues during Ceausescu’s overthrow, followed by a period of absurdist stalemate, in the Transylvanian city of Sibiu. Little did police officer Viorel (Alex Calangiu) know, upon leaving for work on the fateful day of the uprising, that he'd barely survive by the skin of his neck and return after months in bizarre captivity. When shots are fired into protestors by unknown assailants, a vicious pandemonium takes the city to the brink of civil war, and pits four mutually hostile factions against each other – the army, police, secret service and civilians. The army eventually seizes the upper hand, and holds more than 500 people – belonging to the latter groups, with each accusing the other of being lackeys and terrorists – in an emptied swimming pool. The narrative shifted at a breakneck pace between diverse characters, interlocking verbal clashes and psychological duels, taking the film to a bleak anti-climactic finale.

Director: Tudor Giurgiu

Genre: Thriller/Historical Thriller

Language: Romanian

Country: Romania