I was interested to watch this movie because I followed the Romanian revolution in real time in 1989 via the news in the week before Christmas 1989.
The movie tells the true events of the Romanian city of Sibiu from December 22nd 1989 to February 1990.
The opening scenes show from inside the central police station with large crowds of protesters gathering outside demanding to release prisoners.
In reality there were only a few prisoners in the cells and all were for physical crimes not political. The police chief tries to reason with the crowd and invites 3 in to see the cells for themselves.
Meanwhile phones are going to and fro.
The army arrives and the police ask to be escorted out for their safety , but the army immediately changes sides and declares the police "terrorists".
A random shot from a soldier escalates the situation into chaos and the policemen have to make life risking decisions.
This movie captures so well the absolute chaos of a fast moving revolution.
It shows the switching of allegiance so quickly that one minute allies are then arresting and shooting each other.
It shows the cruelty and extra judicial killings of clearly innocent men by the army and how nervous and frightened conscripts can unleash death at the hearing of a twig breaking.
It even shows revolutionary civilians getting arrested by their own because of a wrong turn in a car.
This movie deserves praise for showing both sides of the revolution and how anyone on either side can get caught up in death spirals through no fault of their own.
Great movie for all those history fans and for those that want to learn about the fall of communism in Romania.
The movie tells the true events of the Romanian city of Sibiu from December 22nd 1989 to February 1990.
The opening scenes show from inside the central police station with large crowds of protesters gathering outside demanding to release prisoners.
In reality there were only a few prisoners in the cells and all were for physical crimes not political. The police chief tries to reason with the crowd and invites 3 in to see the cells for themselves.
Meanwhile phones are going to and fro.
The army arrives and the police ask to be escorted out for their safety , but the army immediately changes sides and declares the police "terrorists".
A random shot from a soldier escalates the situation into chaos and the policemen have to make life risking decisions.
This movie captures so well the absolute chaos of a fast moving revolution.
It shows the switching of allegiance so quickly that one minute allies are then arresting and shooting each other.
It shows the cruelty and extra judicial killings of clearly innocent men by the army and how nervous and frightened conscripts can unleash death at the hearing of a twig breaking.
It even shows revolutionary civilians getting arrested by their own because of a wrong turn in a car.
This movie deserves praise for showing both sides of the revolution and how anyone on either side can get caught up in death spirals through no fault of their own.
Great movie for all those history fans and for those that want to learn about the fall of communism in Romania.