Cu mîinile curate (1972)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Sergiu Nicolaescu

Writers:

Titus Popovici (writer)
Petre Salcudeanu (writer)

Release Date:

7 June 1974 (East Germany)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot Keywords:

1940s

Cast

Nita Anastase	...	Alexe
Ion Apahideanu	...	Politist
Corina Chiriac	...	Cântäreata
Ilarion Ciobanu	...	Mihai Roman
George Constantin	...	Semaca
Stelian Cremenciuc	...	Omul lui Scortea
Gheorghe Dinica	...	Lascarica
Alexandru Dobrescu	...	Stefan Patulea
Dorin Dron	...	Puiu Scortea
Jean Lorin Florescu	...	Bleoarcä
Monica Ghiuta	...	Dna Patulea
Corneliu Gîrbea	...	Burdujel
Aimee Iacobescu	...	Charlotte
Mihai Mereuta	...	Schiopu
Stefan Mihailescu-Braila	...	Buciurligä
Sergiu Nicolaescu	...	Tudor Miclovan
Sebastian Papaiani	...	Oarcä
Mircea Pascu	...	Pascu
Emanoil Petrut	...	Nicolae
Vasile Popa
Florin Scarlatescu	...	Lemberg
Cristian Sofron	...	Patulea Jr.
Raluca Zamfirescu

Also Known As:

Mit reinen Händen (West Germany)
With Clean Hands

Runtime:

Germany:95 min

Country:

Romania | West Germany

Language:

Romanian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Bavaria Film

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Whenever the action takes place in some night club, although the movie is set in 1945, the hair cuts, clothes and attitude of women are characteristic for '70.

Quotes:

Tudor Miclovan: Hands up, drop your weapons! Freeze all! You are arrested, Semaca!
Semaca: Hold your fire, commissioner! I promise to you - none will move!
Lascarica: Mr. Semaca! This is me, Lascarica! Please, believe me that I didn't betray you! I was brought here forcefully! Can you hear me, Mr. Semaca...?

Movie Connections:

Followed by Ultimul cartus (1973)

A political pamphlet

'Cu mainile curate' (With Clean Hands)is more a political pamphlet than anything else. Although any political/ historical movie had to be checked by a special division of the Communist Party, Nicolaescu managed to elude their vigilence on one hand and exploit their ignorance, on the other, to make a film which apparently presents the communists in a positive way. In reality there is a lot of subtle political irony, definitely noticed by the public, hence the great success of the film. The story of an apolitical commissar using old methods against the gangsters, very different from the communist view is very interesting especially because the communist view (although ideologically very dear to the Party) was very naive and utopical and of course the public understood the message very well. This commissar has a partner who was put there by the Communist Party, who was a former rugby player. This tells a lot about the irony in the film. The movie is very well made, very careful to details with a great atmosphere of Bucharest in the aftermath of WWII and in the turmoil of the communists ascension to power.