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Storyline
The Iron Guard, also known as Legion of Archangel Michael, was a Romanian nationalist and patriotic movement of extreme right; as such, after it rose to power, it supported Nazi Germany and started a fierce campaign of retaliation against its political enemies. As such, in the night of November 26-27, 1940, the Death Teams executed forty political prisoners in the Jilava prison (in the movie, named "Viraga"), and next day, other two Teams arrested and shot the former minister Virgil Madgearu and the world famous historian Nicolae Iorga (in the movie: Costin Märgeanu and Nicolae Jugu). To squash down the political outcry, the Police Prefect Stefan Zävoianu (Visan Nävodeanu) conveniently assigns the cases to a commissioner from the "Morals Division" (prostitution, thieves), Tudor Moldovan, hoping that he will fail to get to the bottom of the case. However, Moldovan has communist sympathies, so he quickly comes under the influence of the Bolshevik Pîrvu, who had escaped during the Viraga... Written by
Mihnea Columbeanu
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Goofs
During the Viraga massacre, the character Tänäsescu (Mircea Pascu) is seen together with other two guys of Paraipan's team, shooting on and on, with a fanatic expression; a few shots later, he appears alone in a doorway, calmly shooting; yet again, we return then to the previous group of three, with him fanatically shooting on and on.
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Quotes
Zavoianu:
Dincä what shall we do? Vicsoreanu turns me crazy, and Panaitescu ruthlessly warned me: if anything leaks out, he'll hang us...
Alexandru Dincä:
I have the solution in my pocket. We assign a smart inspector, liked by the people and not being an Iron Guard. This way, we put everybody's worries to sleep, and we follow with our plan.
Zavoianu:
We don't need a too smart one. We risk that he turns all our plans upside down.
Alexandru Dincä:
I'll handle the details. The investigation will conclude that the massacre at Viraga was the work of ...
[...]
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Connections
Followed by
Supravietuitorul (2008)
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like each movie from Moldovan series by Nicolaescu, it is piece of its period. propaganda, crime, a hero and not inspired story. unrealistic but nice. because it is an exercise to do a technique good work. to create soft alternative to speech of regime. and transform facts from inter-wars Romania in basis for Ceaușescu dictatorship. why it is fake
- the causes are at every step. why it is nice - answer has roots in
childhood of two Romanian viewers. because the work of Sergiu Nicolaescu has a special place in Romanian cinematography. high attention to details - costumes, streets, buildings, filming way - is seed for an unrealistic product. so, a good film for memories. and for amusing for new generation who discovers that time like slice of fiction.