Kapitalism - Reteta noastra secreta (2010) Online

great movie! great idea! real truth! to bad for Romanian's people... :( "There have been 20 years since the Revolution. Have we got what it takes?

"Kapitalism our secret-recipe describes our journey from communism to a democracy with an ugly face original market. The film brings together the biggest bosses in Romania and try to find out what drove them into battle. Among the full version of the movie are: Dan Voiculescu, George Copos, Patriciu, George Wood and Gigi Becali. They can be followed in the movie, in a series of unusual situations - at home, in business meetings or yacht cruises, each explaining his recipe for success.

A first version of the documentary made by Alexandru Solomon, shorter and with fewer characters was broadcast by the Franco-German Arte TV on December 1, 2009. Short version of "Kapitalism" could be viewed and Television Arts website for 7 days, accumulating 115,000 views. Reactions began to appear both in print and online, where peoples have said opinions, receiving hundreds of comments from the readers. Meanwhile, some have even tried broadcasting television documentary." port .ro

"Kapitalism. Our improved formula" in the Anglophone world) is a 2010 documentary directed by Alexandru Solomon. What I find really important about this film is that it is able to provide a bitter, yet realistic and powerful description of post-Communist Romania. I think that the structure of the film itself is catchy. Alexandru Solomon uses his creative imagination to present figures of the new wealthy Romanian elites by making use of a set of framing stories combined with animated Lego figures. Moreover, as the narration unfolds, the filmmaker invoked a haunting memory from the past – i.e. the former ruler Nicolae Ceaușescu – to witness post-revolutionary Romania's transformation from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. To achieve this goal, the original footage of the former dictator is intertwined in a clever manner with scenes from present time Romania. The topic itself (i.e. Romania's transition towards a market economy) touches a sensitive nerve in almost every Romanian. In order to ease off potential tension and to make the film easily accepted by the public, Alexandru Solomon makes use of irony, sarcasm and, last but not least, a notable sense of humor.

My personal perception is that the entire film revolves around two key concepts: economy and ethics. One after the other, seven (i.e. Dan Voiculescu, Dinu Patriciu, George Pădure, Ioan Niculae, George Copos, Dan Diaconescu and George Becali) of Romania's most prominent businessmen are presented and interviewed. Despite a sharp contrast between Romania's bleak past and its colorful present marked by consumerism, one of the most striking conclusions is that there is a close bond between the old and the new world: in order to thrive, the nouveau-riches still need strong connections, crony-ism and corruption, just as they did a few decades ago. I think it is a compelling feeling to hear the apologetic arguments some of them use to explain their obscure ties with the former secret police agency Securitate. Arrogance? Cynicism? Probably both. On the other hand, these men are all survivors, they obviously possess a remarkable charisma and shrewdness. I feel that their opportunistic behavior helped them grab chances early in the 90′s when most Romanians were unprepared for the shift to capitalism and lacked financial savvy.

While this film addresses some really interesting points about planned and market economy, I don't think it was meant to serve as propaganda for or against capitalism. In my opinion, it was rather aimed at raising some topical questions. In the end, I am asking myself the following question: what happened in the past 20+ years – was it a real change, after all?

This movie shows how the goods of the communist state were hijacked by the new "kapitalists" of Romania after 1989. The country gets indebted and the future generation will pay the price.

What I found interesting is the group pattern of thinking. The Romanian corrupted VIPs feel they don't have enough because they compare themselves with each other and there's always someone that has stolen more. Even if they are filthy reach, they cannot stop stealing because of the competition that creates a false impression of having not enough. However, there's always also the other side of the story, these days one of the guys in the movie is prosecuted for undermining the country's economy.

First of all I have to say that this documentary is far from whatever expectations I had from it. The story is only halfway rounded, completed by the end, the direction is poor, the locations are 99% from the capital city, Bucharest, so I don't think its purpose its fully accomplished by any means.

But my main problem is the intentional way in which only some persons have been chosen to express whatever the director wanted to express. None of the wealthy men shown on the screen are exactly loved by the 'political ruling class' at the moment in Romania. The other side of the coin is that by intentionally omitting some other faces this documentary has, at least for me, a very strong political connotation. I wouldn't be surprised finding out that the finances for the movie came directly from governmental sources.

I won't go on any longer, but my suggestion for you out there who are keen to see this movie, is to watch it with a very critical eye.

All the best!