I was looking forward to the moment when I would have the opportunity to see Alexander Beltz’s film, metronome.

At first, the title and a lot of information in the press (most of which turned out to be not entirely accurate) led me to believe that the film would be about Cornelius Cyriac and his famous show with Radio Free Europe which got there after being removed from the programs of the national radio. And after its chief producer was brought back from the Treiskirchen camp by the extraordinary director of the Romanian Radio Division in Munich, the great, incomparable Noel Bernard. What, according to the testimony of Ioana Magura-Bernard (cf. Director of our radio station, Curtea Veche Publishing House, Bucharest, 2007) don’t really care about either Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin. But who knew that such a show would not only increase the station’s audience, but also make young listeners stay on the station’s frequencies, listen to news programs as well, and Political programand romanian news, and performances by Monica Lovinescu and Virgil Yerunka. I was wondering how many inserts with metronome they can be found in the film if the filmmakers found and used the credits of the program, the 1972 edition, when the action takes place, with the unmistakable voice of Ioana Crisan (Gertrude Dumitrescu).

When, finally, it was time to get acquainted with the film, I quickly realized that Alexander Beltz rather preferred the idea of ​​reviving on film the generation of teenagers of the first part of the 70s, and especially those who live today. something like how they understood freedom. As their illusions of independence crumbled one by one. In October 1972, when the main part of the action of the film takes place, Ceausescu has almost settled with the past. In 1968, he almost eliminated the so-called inconveniences barons Dejthen he made his famous visits to China and North Korea, he gave the killers Theses from July 1971, repeated in November of the same year. In 1970, he banned it Reconstruction. Earlier, in 1966, it was discreetly removed from the track A movie with a charming girl, a film by Lucian Bratu and Radu Kosas. In 1971, he staged a play by Hood over the eyes from Bulandrain October 1972, he did the same, much more brutally, to Inspector Pintilier from the same theater. The same Ceausescu with whom he started the war Radio Free Europeissued Decree 23/1971, which prohibited Romanian citizens from listening to radio stations hostile and was preparing the beginning of devastation personality cult. The first terrible signs of which will appear in January 1973.

Teenagers from metronome they did not know in October 1972 about the aforementioned decree, they did not even know that they were at home it is spoken in a whispernor what this Security was (their parents, as is clear from the way the two of them, played by Andrea Bibiri and Mihai Kelin in the film, were much more informed about it), that it was everywhere, that he had informants everywhere, even among high school students (one of them is Sorin, played very well by Sherban Lazarovych), that she is a pervert (as the colonel played by Vlad Ivanov shows us) and that she beats the mother of fire (as does the one played by Alin Florea).

So, students of the 12th grade of Bucharest High School Tudor Vladimirescu met, taking advantage of the absence of parents, at a colleague for dancing tea. But before they started dancing mainly to the music of Mircea Florian (choreographer Paul Dunka showed the young actors in the film how to dance at the time), they listened to the publication metronome (the one where Cyriac paid tribute to Jim Morrison) and created an addressed letter dj from Munich, which began with political complaints and continued with a list of musical preferences that will be broadcast on the airwaves Optional. The letter has been delivered bodies Sorin, who was about to emigrate with his family to Germany and who was in love with Ana, convincingly played by Mara Bugarin.

Hence the beginning of the mechanism (of a kind great mechanism) by competent authorities they were meant to put the potentially dangerous on the right track and end them as individuals. Relevant in this regard is the climax! – the sexual sequence at the end of the film. The whole story of Securitate, with its rigidity, with the game on several sides, with the game of its employees, Jim and Jeff leaves, despite the efforts of Alexandra Belka, the excellent cameraman Tudor Pandura, Bohdan Ionescu (sets) ), Yoana Kovalchuk (costumes), actors, which are not bad at all, unfortunately leaves a feeling dThis isJto see

Alexander Beltz’s idea is to put you face to face with (woofff!) modern youth with those of the 70s, perhaps even so that today’s people value freedom, as they should, to understand how valuable the right to think freely is. It remains to be seen whether the director’s hopes will come true.

Prequel circa 2019, actually the pilot episode of the series from Professional television which has never been done before (Years of Saturday evening, directed by Nae Karanfil), a series that wanted to revive the 80s, gives little cause for optimism. He could not do it for various reasons. Read the whole article and comment on contributors.ro