May 4, 20213 min read

Colectiv: Truth's Fire cleanses Government's Crimes

Updated: Jan 30, 2023

Reviews by:

@the_owlseyes

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In 2015 a gruesome fact striked Romania but the world didn't talk about it, a lot of people didn't know about it until someone decided to expose it. For four years the victims, who has been wounded beyond physical damages, has fought against a corrupt government, trying to make things right. Something was accomplished but the idea to show this horror to the world was the necessary step to avenge the 64 deaths and 143 injured. It was held by an independent director and financed by local and foreign producers. The movie was released in 2019 but in 2021 was nominated in two categories of the Oscars and received a backup from actor of Romanian origins like Sebastian Stan, who recently starred in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It's hard to review a movie which has an emotional value for a people and is structured as a documentary, because you'll feel the weight of your choices. I hope that I'll be up for the task. Stick with me till the end.

PLOT

"Director Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens" or "Good people try to get justice for a lot people killed by government's laxity".

SCRIPT

As a documentary, it meticulously analyses the events the way they unfolded, without leaving out the victims point of view. It focuses a lot on the process which was used by the journalists to get the truth, by showing their struggle against politicians who wanted to disavow themselves from the responsability of what happened that night. The movie puts front and center the experience of the journalists at the expense of the victims. The movie results less powerful than it was intended because it approached events without delving in the emotions of the people involved. After a while the story tends to drag because it decides to show the aftermath from a political standpoint, which seems biased and hard to uderstand for a foreign audience who doesn't know how Romanian politics works. Overall it's weel written because it gives you all the infromation to understand what happened and to empathyze for the people who found themselves into that kind of situation.

Script: 8/10

ACTING

The actors aren't professional ones but the people who took part to the events which occured in the tragedy's aftermath. They try to do their best but it's clear that this isn't their main occupation. That doesn't hurt the movie but, sometimes, it seems out of place and create a sense of uneasiness.

Acting: 5/10

PHOTOGRAPHY

It's the usual documentary's style. There's nothing to be added here because the movie wasn't intended to be artistic. It serves its purpose. Some scenes will stuck in your mind because of their gruesome aspect. You'll understand what fire could do to your body.

Photography: 7/10

EDITING

Usual stuff you can get from a documentary. As for the photography, it does what is needed without experimenting that much. Only the reconstructed fire scenes of the night club stand out. It tries to uniform to the style of crime's documentaries but the shots are, sometimes, too shaky.

Editing: 6/10

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Cgi wasn't necessary here. Fortunately they tried to stay as simple as their emotions, without trying to be something else. As a documentary should be. Something practical was used to reproduce the Colectiv's fire and the damages to the club but it seems pretty executed and it shocks you to the bone.

Special Effects: 6/10

SOUNDTRACK

There isn't a determined soundtrack. This is why I'll share the song which was performed moments before the tragedy. Members fo the band have died after it and I think that this is the best way to remember them. The mark I've given is about the movie's quality, not the band's.

Soundtrack: 5/10

COSTUMES

It's a section superfluous for this movie. They achieved belivability easily, because the costumes are ordinary ones.

Costumes: 6/10

CONCLUSION

Script: 8/10

Acting: 5/10

Photography: 7/10

Editing: 6/10

Special Effects: 6/10

Soundtrack: 5/10

Costumes: 6/10

AVERAGE: 6,14

It's a good documentary but it could've been better if it focused more on the emotions rather than the events and the political side. It's able to make you understand how much corruption is present in Romania and how it affects the people. I liked the detailed representation of the detectives and their struggles and some gruesome scenes intended to shock the viewer. Some facts has to be told and entertainment could help us spread knowledge in a world which seems interested more in politics and its gossip rather than human tragedies. Something which you can't get from the television news of your country. Every people still think for itself. We have to be a unite world.

By @the_owlseyes

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