''Reconstruction'' is a 2001 documentary made by

Irene Lusztig Irene Lusztig (born 1974) is a British-American nonfiction filmmaker and artist. Her work explores historical memory, archival materials, communism and post-communism, as well as feminist historiography. Irene is a first generation American who ...

that investigates the

Ioanid Gang The Ioanid Gang ( ro, Banda Ioanid) is the name given by Communist propaganda to a group in Communist Romania named after two of its members, Alexandru and Paul Ioanid. They were accused of carrying out on 28 July 1959 the most famous bank robbery ...

bank heist committed in 1959 in

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...

. The film focuses on Monica Sevianu, Lusztig's grandmother, and the only female involved in the heist. The documentary gets its name from a

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will a ...

that was made by the Romanian government three years after the robbery was committed. The original ''Reconstruction'' was a strange blend of documentary and fiction, where the criminals played themselves in a crime-film whose plot was driven by clues that self-congratulatory detectives pieced together. The propaganda film was only screened to journalists and high-ranking

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

officials before being buried beneath government files. Lusztig managed to find a copy and incorporates clips into her documentary.

Summary

Exploring her dark family secret, Lusztig blends Romania's history with her personal history. Modern footage of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, news clips from the postwar era, and personal family interviews are compiled in order to make sense of her grandmother's criminal behavior. But, unlike a typical crime-thriller, the real-life criminal is complicated and can't be fully understood from a few pieces of evidence and an extorted confession. By 1959 it was clear that the

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...

communism had promised Romania was not going to be a reality.

Antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, which had been boiling since before the war, continued to pose a threat, and the suspicion and distrust of the communist age affected the entire nation. Monica and her husband Gugu (Igor), who also participated in the robbery, had been communist supporters who were abandoned and abused by the government as soon as it came to power. Lusztig's documentary speculates that government's oppression and antisemitism encouraged their criminal behavior. Having given up on their hopes for a government they believed in, Monica and her husband turned to adventure and pleasure seeking. With the money she stole, before her arrest, Monica bought a pleated gray skirt and an orange angora sweater. Material pleasures offered happiness and certainty that the government had taken from her. With a tone of uncertainty Lusztig tries to sort through the rumors that surround the crime in hopes of discovering what really happened. Were the criminals going to give the money to poor

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

in their community? Were they going to fly away and escape to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

? Or, perhaps, was the crime staged by the communist government to encourage antisemitism? Surprises and twists unfold in the process to unveil the truth.

Production

*Lusztig was eleven or twelve years old when her mother told her about her grandmother's dark past. Before then, it had remained a well-kept secret. Lusztig did not know her grandmother. She only met her twice. She says her inspiration for constructing a film around an absent female protagonist came from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

writer

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...

's novel ''Group Portrait with Lady''. *Lusztig's editing and filming draws from Dušan Makavejev and the belief that a filmmaker should trust his or her intuition and can make connections between seemingly unconnected images.

Film festivals and awards

''Reconstruction'' was screened at a number of film festivals including: *

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

* Docaviv Documentary Film Festival * It's All True São Paulo Documentary Film Festival *

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) ( Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform fo ...

Cleveland International Film Festival The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest film festival in Ohio. It was first held in 1977, showing eight films over a period of eight weeks at the Cedar Lee Theatre. It ...

* Documentary Fortnight,

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

, NY *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

International Women's Film Festival *

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Film Festival * Palic International Film Festival

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

* Alpe Adria Cinema Film Festival

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Women Film Festival ''Reconstruction'' received the following awards: * FIPRESCI Jury Nomination- from IDFA

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

International Documentary Festival * Certificate of Merit- from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

International Film Festival * "Rediscoveries/Discoveries" Award- from the

Boston Society of Film Critics The Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC) is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. History The BSFC was formed in 1981 to make “Boston’s unique critical perspective heard on a national and internati ...

* Best Documentary- at the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

Film Festival

Reception

''Reconstruction'' received praise from the

Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' a ...

, Variety, and film scholars at Harvard and Berkeley. It has been hailed as "an example of personal documentary at its best."

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

''The Jewish Channel'' reviews ''Reconstruction''Woman Make Movies review of ''Reconstruction''Irene Lusztig on IMDb
* {{IMDb title, 0316475, Reconstruction 2000s Romanian-language films American avant-garde and experimental films Socialist Republic of Romania Documentary films about conspiracy theories 2000s crime films 2001 films Documentary films about Jews and Judaism Documentary films about crime Documentary films about Romania British avant-garde and experimental films British documentary films American documentary films 2000s avant-garde and experimental films 2001 documentary films 2000s American films 2000s British films