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Examen
Romania 2003
produced by Velvet Moraru for Icon Production
directed by Titus Mutean
starring Marius Stanescu, Gheorghe Dinica, Clara Voda, Gheorghe Visu, Coca Bloos, Valentin Uritescu, Alexandra Mutu (= Alexandra Dinu), Mihai Dinvale, Lucian Ifrim, Alexandru Bindea, Eugen Cristian Motriuc, Emil Hostina, Simona Popescu, Razvan Oprea, Emilia Dobrin, Vasile Mentzel, Nicolae Calugarita, Papil Panduru, Sorin Gheorghiu, Marian Despina, Vitalie Bantas, Cristina Tacoi, Brândusa Mircea, Anca-Ioana Androne, Doina Ghitescu
review by Mike Haberfelner
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For her final exam at the film academy, a young student has tracked
down Cristi (Marius Stanescu), a man she thinks can give her some rare
insight into the times of Communism and dictator Ceausescu's rule, an era
that tends to be more and more forgotten by her own generation, her having
been a mere child in 1989. Cristi is interesting inasmuch as he had been
imprisoned for several years during the Communist era for a brutal murder he didn't even commit,
was convicted because the regime needed a culprit, and the police just got
someone loosely connected to the victim (Alexandra Mutu), tortured a
confession out of him, and forced "witnesses" to testify against
him. It wasn't until five years later that the real killer, an artist
(Lucian Ifrim) was found rather by accident with evidence so overwhelming
(he still kept parts of the victim's skeleton in his apartment) that the
police had to release Cristi. Cristi then tried to find back to a normal
life, but his prison experiences had changed him and his political beliefs
- so much so that eventually his wife (Clara Voda) couldn't stand the new
Cristi any longer and left him. Looking for answers, Cristi then visited
the policemen who had arrested him, but they all blamed the regime for his
ordeal. Ultimately, back in the now, Cristi confesses that he killed one
of the cops, gassed him in his own car - a shocking revelation he intended
to give off camera, but the cameraman just left the camera rolling - which
also catches the final reactions of the film student, who is happy to have
her interview but seems to have actually learned very little about her own
history from Cristi's story. An interesting yet decidedly less
than perfect film: Interesting inasmuch as it sheds an unusual light on
history as well as the individual perception of history (which includes
lack of interest and the inability to learn from it), but less than
perfect inasmuch that the film is way too eager to hammer its point home
and is therefore rather unsubtle and even a tad superficial in approach. Still,
while it's by no means a perfect film, Examen is at least worth a
look.
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