In communist Romania, thousands of Western films on bootleg VHS tapes - mostly Hollywood action movies - were smuggled behind the Iron Curtain, opening a window into the ‘free’ world. Under President Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania was culturally isolated and ideologically censored. Images of life outside its borders were cut off and TV was reduced to propaganda bulletins. But in the mid-1980s, thousands of Hollywood films were smuggled into the country by an underground operative named Zamfir, and they were all covertly dubbed by Irina Nistor, a courageous translator whose distinct voice captivated the nation and became a symbol of freedom. As we see through evocative re-creations in ‘Chuck Norris vs Communism’, a network of secret screening rooms sprung up across Romania as families, friends, and neighbours gathered to watch action heroes like Norris, Van Damme, and Stallone, along with romantic comedies, dramas, and Hollywood epics. This stylish documentary brings us to a time and place when films that were made for entertainment also helped spark the coming revolution. Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris.
- Tags
-