A banished curse
The Securitate in Romanian film
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The terror of the Securitate has left deep scars in Romanian society. However, since the fall of the Ceauşescu regime, it has taken a long time for politicians, legal experts and academics to engage with the crimes committed by the secret service. During this period, the suffering of the victims was portrayed in films, which also told their stories from a personal perspective and in an accusatory tone. During the 2000s, the black-and-white approach was abandoned and the tone of remembrance changed, with the adoption of a more critical view. The “New Wave” films avoided clear assignations of good or evil, and instead offered a space for a more nuanced portrayal of events. In recent years, film directors have portrayed Romania’s communist past from a certain distance and without resentment.
(Osteuropa 6-8/2019, pp. 319–324)