Artist The Autobiography Of Nicolae Ceausescu

Andrei Ujica’s epic documentary The Autobiography Of Nicolae Ceausescu opens with a bracing moment shortly before the late Romanian president’s 1989 execution, with Ceausescu scoffing at an interrogation called by the citizens he either abused or ignored for decades. After that opening, Ujica proceeds chronologically through the history of the Ceausescu administration, giving an impression of the banality of malice, buried within staged celebrations and dry bureaucratic business. Most likely, The Autobiography Of Nicolae Ceausescu will mean the most to actual Romanians, but the movie offers plenty to captivate outsiders, including meetings with Nixon and Mao Zedong and footage of everyday Romanian life. It’s easy to see why those who lived under Ceausescu seethed every time he opened his mouth or waved at them dismissively from the back of a moving vehicle. Until one day, after a long, long stretch, the people had their say.

Updated 01/30/2012