My motivation to watch this film is a bit weird. The Leninist system and its aftermath fascinate me, and therefore I often buy films about this subject. So when I saw the DVD "12:08 east of Bucharest", with a hammer and sickle on the cover and a short text about the revolution of 1989, I yielded to the temptation. However, the narrative is actually about Romanian people in a provincial town, whose sole experience with the revolution have been the TV images from Bucharest. The characters are neither Leninists nor rebels, but plain and common people. There is a teacher suffering from alcoholism, an aged man, and a TV producer, who used to work in the textile industry. Their behavior and situations are moving but mainly trivial. Even the TV producer, despite his obvious arrogance, is likable in the struggle for the survival of his channel. If you try to identify the legacy of Leninism in this community, it is perhaps the helplessness of the main characters. In addition there is the disconsolateness of the town, and its houses, buildings and roads - although of course these saddening shots may just be the deliberate selection of the film director. There is some mild humor, like the shopping of the aged man for a (red) Santa Claus suit. Christmas - the holiday in which neither the past nor the future is of as much interest as the present. Or the Chinese friend of the drunk teacher. He drinks to make other people interesting. When he read about the evils of drinking, he gave up reading. However, the dominant message of the story seems to be the apathy and indifference with respect to the revolution, even though it has freed the people from a long lasting dictatorship. The world is full of apathy, but so what? The target group of the film is probably the Romanian people, who are invited to reflect on it, and cope with it. Foreigners may feel grateful for the freedom and democracy, that they enjoy. That's all, folks!
Review of 12:08 East of Bucharest
