Racolarea

I have just seen this film, it's a pity so great actors had to play so insignificant parts. Of course every thing is exaggerated, like in communist Romanian films, but if you are 50 years old and begin to write down your memories it reminds you of the old Romanian planes of TAROM, of the old Dacias, and a lot of other things. Now, after so many years we can wonder how an engineer, a specialist from Romania can be considered important for a foreign intelligence agency, because there was almost nothing original in our scientific research of the time. But the "Securitatea", the Romanian secret police and intelligence agency, did its best to make us believe that we were all about to be intercepted by a foreign agent eager to steal our important secrets.

I've seen this film recently on a Romanian TV-channel. It brought up lots of memories from the eighties, when I was a kid and the only films I could see (except VHS) were Romanian or east-European. First, it's the sets. A big part of the action takes place in foreign countries, yet all the furniture is obviously Romanian-made, and all the clothing, the walls, the windows, everything seems to be made in our country. I can't say this film is just bad, because it aged a lot these last 21 years. It must have had a very serious target back then - showing the Romanian population the risks of getting in touch with forces outside the communist space. Now it's just a hilarious, obsolete film that strives to copy some clichés from "James Bond" films of the seventies. Acting is really awful, especially from Piersic, the name of the director is still a mystery. Besoiu plays one of the funniest villains I've ever seen in Romanian cinema.

It is a good film for understand the Romanian realities of "80's. a surogate, like the Moldovan serie or Transylvanians in America serie. in same measure, tool of propaganda. each not surprising. the lead problem is not the desire to do a spy film. but give an awful one, with a bad plot, the worst performances against the good intentions of actors and the ambition of accuracy for locations. short, a film about the danger to have ralationships with strangers. well known interdiction for Romanians. presented in uninspired manner.