Kapitalism - Our Improved Formula by Alexandru Solomon

Nicolae Ceauşescu is back. At least in the nightmarish fantasies Alexandru Solomon is haunted by when he reflects on the last 20 years in post-revolutionary Romania. When he looks at the recent economic and ethical state of Romanian society – nepotism, corruption and a huge and growing gap between the new elites and the poor majority of the population – he wonders what Comrade Ceauşescu would have to say about all of it. And as in film almost everything is possible, he resurrects this ghost of the past and accompanies him through the capitalist wonderland that Romania has become since Ceauşescu’s execution.

On the one hand, this is a bitter, sometimes shocking documentary. Trying to answer the question of how a socialist society like Romania under Ceauşescu could get transformed into a super-capitalist state, Solomon visits members of the new Romanian elites. Both Solomon and his fictional co-director recognize them from back in the days when they were high-rank members of Ceauşescu’s apparatus of power. All are shockingly blunt when they talk about how they made their profit before and after the revolution - no regrets there.

On the other hand, Solomon cleverly interlaces original footage of Ceauşescu with images of modern Bucharest and succeeds in illustrating highly complex economic processes in an easily understandable manner – through the use of toy-animated sequences.

Overall however the sarcasm of Solomon’s commentary dominates, ironically applauding the transformation skills of the country’s de facto-leaders. It’s this deeply disillusioned voice of the filmmaker, after 20 years of hoping for real change, that sticks with the audience after leaving the cinema.

By Jens Geiger