COMMUNIST FAITHS

Both films in this section are, each in its own way, about the victims of communism in Romania, in the troubled years that followed the end of WW2. Like elsewhere in Eastern Europe, the small communist party in Romania  was rising to power far beyond their numbers and seeking to obtain totalitarian control. Those who dared stand against them (the partisans) risked annihilation. God Save The Partisans recalls the heroic resistance some people put up against the spreading communist terror, showing a reckless courage and having nothing to rely on except the hope that ''the Americans are coming''. It is an emotional recollection, through the life story of an extraordinary woman, told with the help of archive material interwined with interviews. The Red Empress - The Life and Adventures of Ana Pauker makes use of thorough research and reliable voices to go beyond the bidimensional character and deconstruct the public image of one of the most hated communist leaders. Eventually, she herself became a victim of political purges and the internal struggle for power. No one was safe in those troubled times. As Winston Churchil had proclaimed, an Iron Curtain had descended across the Continent. (Adina Marin)