The title alone will get you in the door, right? And it’s not a bait and switch, the synopsis is pretty clear. This is a documentary about how the influx of American movies in Communist Romania in the ‘80s inspired a generation. You’d watch that movie too, but it’s a damn good title.
Romania under Ceausescu was a very oppressive communist dictatorship. They only had one TV channel with two hours of propaganda programming. When a local man got a VCR, he held movie nights and obtained bootleg VHS tapes of American movies. While Lone Wolf McQuade and Missing in Action were part of the rotation, they were mostly big movies like Pretty Woman, Back to the Future, Rambo, Rocky and Beverly Hills Cop.
Chuck Norris Vs. Communism features testimonials from Romanians who attended those parties, as well as people involved in producing the tapes. It’s a pretty fascinating industry as they had one narrator, Irina, who dubbed the Romanian translation. There were no subtitles in this operation, so not only were they watching movies with a second voice track following the dialogue, it was one person speaking for every actor in the film. So that’s fun, and it’s funny when she doesn’t translate the profanity too.
The Romanians sharing childhood memories capture a passion for movies we may take for granted. They were watching illegal films at great risk should they be caught, and here we are with our VOD and Blu-rays. These films were their only introduction to American fashion and automobiles, and Rocky taught some kids how to be healthy and exercise.
Where the Romanian interpretation of our films really becomes inspiring is when they took Chuck Norris’ wooden acting as an admirable demonstration of true calm. We might say Norris under reacted to stressful situations like being buried alive. Romanians under a communist regime saw a man who could persevere and be unfazed by oppression.
The interview segments are beautifully photographed in 2.35:1 so they are way more cinematic than the usual talking heads. We get to see movie clips in VHS quality with their Romanian dub, and the rest of the footage is dramatic re-enactments of the viewing parties and dubbing operations. Re-enactments can be problematic in documentary because dramatizing editorializes in a genre that demands facts. It works for Chuck Norris Vs. because this is a documentary about cinema, so a cinematic re-enactment is valid. Plus, there simply is no footage from communist Romania, so what else are we going to watch for 80 minutes? The re-enactments are so professionally made, with great performances, they are not cheesy like an Unsolved Mysteries knockoff show.
Chuck Norris Vs. Communism lives up to the hype implied by its very title. We do get to see how movies starring Norris and other sometimes B-grade action heroes made a difference politically and personally. It’s a celebration of cinema as art and the power of cinema to give people hope and even inspire change.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and The Shelf Space Awards. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
