Chuck Norris Contra o Comunismo

Come on! We all got interested in this film after reading its title, right? Well, I think so. "Chuck Norris vs Comunism" says a lot and yet it triggers a wish to know more.

Living in a democratic country, and therefore having free access to all the films mentioned in this documenatry, I couldn't help thinking "oh my" when I saw this. What was so easy and obvious here, demanded such an effort and secret operation in Romania.

But skipping the political discussions and the obvious difficulties of Communism, this film is about the love for art.

I read a review here on IMDb by a Romanian and am am sure this person would be a much better judge of the central theme of this documentary. They felt that "Chuck Norris Vs. Communism" overstated its position that the illegal import of American 1980s videotapes into Romania served to introduce Western ideas into this communist dictatorship and this led to the fall of the government in 1989. While I agree this reviewer that this was overstated a bit, it surely had some impact on changing attitudes. However, the context of the time also must have had a lot to do with it as well...something never even mentioned in the film. In other words, communist bloc nations were throwing out their governments by refusing to work or do anything until their leaders resigned...and Romania was just part of that wave. So, I agree with tributarystu...but it's still well worth seeing.

The film uses interviews and recreations to explain how Romanians smuggled in American films. Additionally, mostly one interpreter dubbed the movies (doing ALL the voices) and there was a cottage industry that was illegal but overlooked by various government officials. After all, they liked watching the films and there was some sort of payoff going on as well. It's all interesting and worth seeing...if a tad overstated.

Brilliant, a must for Western viewers. You'll learn more about daily life behind Iron Curtain than a dozen documentaries...

A documentary about the magic of film and the power it has to change lives.

This is a strange film where the Romanian government sees the hidden messages in cartoon balloons and images of grocery stores, which obviously were never intended by the creators. This is both a commentary on political suppression, but also (inadvertently) a critique of artistic criticism. So many see so much in books and film that the creators clearly never meant.

The focus of the film is on the subculture of people who watched VHS tapes smuggled in to Romania, giving them glimpses of Western culture (primarily American). It seems they were especially drawn to action films and the movies coming out of the Cannon Group. Exactly why this is, I do not know.

But we also get to meet Irina Margareta Nistor, the woman who dubbed more than 3000 of these tapes. The translation of the swear words is pretty funny, and not completely isolated. Anyone who watches a movie in a foreign language they can understand will notice the subtitles are almost always a bit off.

I remember her voice from the movies I watched when I was a little kid. Hearing it again is like a gift from the gods. The movie is a story of how movies shaped an entire generation, but for me it's more like a rollercoaster ride to the childhood. I love the attention that's given to the details - small things, like the ticking of a clock. If you weren't there, you gotta watch it. If you were there, you'll love to watch it!