Asediul

a propaganda film. who looking for create reasonable explanation for the roots of Communist regime. predictable, using the same message about the force of popular masses and the same Manicheism. but, after decades and fall of dictatorship, interesting for few elements. like the performance of Ilarion Ciobanu, the use of masses, the image of Ovidius Square and few drops of atmosphere. the film has, today, a specific public. and its sins - ideological and artistic - are not different by many others films from the same period. for a contemporary public is not easy to understand . but the film reflects the desire to legitimate the conquer of power. with poor tools, sure, and being a compromise for Mircea Mureșanu. but, this was the spirit of time. and the political command.

the political message socks. the end must be heroic. but, as many others movie from Communism, the performance of actors makes it more than propaganda tool. Ilarion Ciobanu does a credible role and , in his style, transforms the script using each nuance of his role. The images from Ovidius square from Constanța , the construction of characters, Octavian Cotescu in a slippery journalist role,Geo Saizescu in a small hero role, Dan Nuțu in the young rebel with noble intentions skin, the images of masses - one of marks of Mircea Mureșan -and the rhythm of story tension are useful ingredients to give a decent status to film. A film about the fight for power and beginning of a new political regime. interesting just be as testimony about an event, about a regime ambitions.

This is the usual communist heroic act. The people are brave. And popular. The owners are disgusting. And so are their man-tools. But the proletariat will prevail. A silly narrative for a backward population that still believes in fairy tales. Otherwise you get the regular fare for a Romanian movie: bad acting, bad direction, bad scripting, almost unlimited extras, lots of on location filming for no other reason than to give the team an extra paid vacation. If only the movie would have had some cues, like the bad guys wearing black hats. But the communist movie experience is based on a limited pool of party members so the audience knows very well each actor.

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