Requiem For Dominic

Although Robert Dornhelm's political thriller based on a true story of government brutality and treachery in Romania has been hailed as "stunning," "amazing," and "compelling," I found it to be more "disturbing" than anything else. The film stars Felix Mitterer as Paul Weiss, a Romanian exile living in Austria, who has returned to Romania to see his childhood friend Dominic Paraschiv. When he arrives in Temesvar, he discovers that a badly wounded Dominic is being held under inhuman conditions, and is being called the "Butcher of Temesvar," having reputedly murdered some 80 people in a chemical factory. Weiss's attempts to uncover the truth about his friend--attempts which eventually land him in jail--form the backbone of the story. Filmed five months after the overthrow of Ceaucescu, Requiem For Dominic mixes actual documentary footage with filmed scenes, and the grainy footage used throughout makes it virtually impossible to separate reality from dramatic re-enactment. This is not only deeply disturbing (are those people in the scene really dead?) but confusing in the extreme. Granted that most people are not going to be familiar with Romanian politics to begin with (references to Ceaucescu and the Securitate will not automatically ring bells with American audiences), the film is almost perversely chaotic. Scenes of pandemonium in the street shift all over the place, and are often filmed at night. All sense of time and continuity is quickly lost, as Weiss simply appears here and there (does he have a hotel room someplace? does the man eat? does he have a personality, a history, family to contact?). Weiss is as much of a cipher as Dominic is, and though the ending is powerful and does indeed explain away some of the foregoing confusion, Requiem For Dominic achieves precisely the opposite of its original intention. Not developing the characters the way, for instance, Alan Parker's Midnight Express did, the film fails to put a human face on political torture. A portion of the proceeds from the video sales will go to Amnesty International. Unfortunately, good intentions do not make a good film. And while I can certainly laud the impetus for making the film (Dornhelm's previous American cinematic efforts--Echo Park and Cold Feet--have been no cause for celebration), the fact remains that most people will find Requiem too jumbled to follow. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman)