Un commissario accusa

I've seen the unique series of romanian action movies, directed in a great manner by expert romanian director Sergiu Nicolaescu many times. The story of this movie is about the investigation run by police inspector Tudor Moldovan (played by Sergiu Nicolaescu), in the case of the murders committed at a prison in Bucharest by the fascist movement in Romania , during the 1940's. The story was somewhat discussed by the communist regime that ruled Romania, when the movie was made, who imposed Nicolaescu to show the communist movement that appears in the movie in a good light, giving it an overated role during the events that took place during the 1940's. However, the main character, Tudor Moldovan, keeps a neutral political line, which is a strong point of the movie. Built up using the Hollywood hero type, Tudor Moldovan is intelligent, brave, intuitive and ofcourse, a heart-breaker. However, Nicolaescu , being the man of action, hasn't insisted too much on the sentimental part so we won't see women almost at all in the entire movie. Moldovan has to put up with his rival: the professional assasin, "Paraipan", excellent played by Gheorghe Dinica. Also, other characters like Limba, played by Jean Constantin, the small time punk that helps Moldovan in his investigation, gives the movie a wonderful comedy taste. The end of the movie, is made in Nicolaescu's typical manner: after making justice among the bad guys, Tudor Moldovan is also shot in a heroic battle. This leaves you with quite a bitter taste exactly in the end and shows you that Nicolaescu doesn't like happy endings.. Nicolaescu is a master in the work of a camera. This can be seen in all of his movies, here as well. Overall, young Nicolaescu looks good, as a director as well as the main character in the movie. So: good acting, performed by many great romanian actors, good directing, Nicolaescu style, nice story. A great movie that you should see. 9/10

During the communist era one had to be very cautious when talking about the old regime, and especially the "Iron Guard" or general Ion Antonescu. It is almost a miracle that Sergiu Nicolaescu was able to make a film set in the historical frame of the early 1940's. Although the Communist Party made different modifications into the initial script, adding scenes or lines praising the activity of the communists, the film remains a milestone in the history of Romanian cinematography and the historical events depicted are quite accurate. Perhaps the best thing now would be a director's cut where the scenes forcibly imposed by the Communist Party to be erased.

Extremely long, boring, unrealistic, lying, silly, comical through its stupidness, typical Soviet machine propaganda "movie".

I've barely watched it just to see how much more they can invent and misrepresent the reality, what really happened, how really was, the HISTORICAL TRUTH, for their own good, for the mass brain washing purposes.

If you don't know anything about 1940 Romania and you'd like to know everything or at least a little bit, all you have to do is to reverse the nonsense shown here at a 180 degrees angle.

Or to remember that this movie was made by the worst Communist dictatorship in Europe, representing a doctrine that killed between 120 and 160 million people...

For the time when it was shot, "Un comisar acuzä" was surprisingly well done, catchy and fast paced. Unfortunately, it was also paying tribute to the communist propaganda, depicting the Iron Guards as gorilla-type hoodlums, when everyone in Romania knows they were ascetic and cultured looking intellectuals and students, with a touch of religious and nationalist fanaticism (a bit closer to the truth are the portrayals in "Actorul si sälbaticii", although that's also a history-misshaping movie). In the same vein, Tudor Moldovan remains a cardboard character, with poorly disguised communist sympathies - and worse, the director's conformism becomes obvious in the useless scenes showing the communist illegal printing presses and leaflets, closed with the slogan: "Let's unite our forces around the Romanian Communist Party!" But, after all, who needs historical truth and political honesty in a James Bond-type movie about a super-commissioner? True to himself, Sergiu Nicolaescu brings again on screen ancient cars that crash all together, fly over each other like Baudelaire's Albatross and explode like as many fireworks... Gunshots galore, bullet-impact effects all over the cast, stunt-men, extras and sets, slow-motion shots with a touch of poetic sarcasm (by the way, the hotel stairway scene is a faithful copy-paste from John Milius' "Dillinger", with just two additions: two victims instead of one, and slow-motion). Kudos for the photography of Nicolae Girardi (uncredited; it was signed only by Alexandru David), for the nervous editing of Dan Naum, and mainly for the thrilling score by Richard Oschanitzky. All in all, a delicious piece of entertaining adventure.

Of course, you can't expect super quality from this Romanian police drama, especially when you know that it was shot during the Ceausescu years (a time of oppression and strict censorship).

However, it has many saving graces. The story is solid. The characters are surprisingly interesting. The propaganda is there, but not so obvious as to make you stop watching. The chases between the Inspector and the Iron Guard are well directed and great fun to watch (especially the staircase and the theatre sequence). It could be argued perhaps that the film is a bit longer than it should be, but, fortunately, the rhythm of the action is good and you don't get too bored.

All in all, Nicolaescu proves one more time that, despite all difficult circumstances and artistic limitations, he is a great cinematographer.