Film Recommendation: I’m an Old Communist Hag

I’m an Old Communist Hag (Sunt o babă comunistă, Stere Gulea, 2013) is based on Dan Lungu’s widely popular and internationally recognized Romanian novel of the same name. Both creations delve into the topics of communist nostalgia and personal memories of communism in the post-socialist era marked by the emergence of capitalism and democracy – nevertheless still influenced by the past of the old system. To explore these topics, the film’s narrative focuses on a woman in her early 60s, Emilia (Luminița Gheorghiu), whose emigrant daughter, Alice (Ana Ularu) comes back to the small Romanian town for a short visit, together with her American fiancé Alan (Collin Blair). Emilia and her husband, Țucu (Marian Ralea) engage in the process of preparation, which is not so easy given the fact that theydon’t’have enough money to properly do so. It turns out that the ambitious youngsters of the affluent West are dealing with money problems too – in their case caused by mortgage obligations and unemployment.

Despite the serious material issues of the characters, Gulea’s film is a heart-warming comedy that touches upon different social realities with charming humour and irony. Emilia, labelled as an “old communist hag,” has indeed fond memories of the Ceaușescu-era. She even has her communist party membership book hidden underneath the icon of the Virgin Mary. Due to her ‘status’ in the neighbourhood as a communist, she is asked to participate in a documentary film on socialist Romania and Emilia feels more than ready to talk about the dynamic life of the now-abandonned factories. Hence, Emilia becomes a source of cultural memory, while her personal memories are also recreated through black-and-white flashback scenes.

The ageing character’s closeness to memory and nostalgia is displayed already in the opening scene: here, we see our heroine as she arranges photographs into an album. Her narration and the scenes of remembrance reveal gradually the reasons behind Emilia’s attachment to communism. For her, the years of the regime coincided with her youth, her early years with Alice and the joyful days of the factory collective. Her attachment is constituted more on an emotional and less on an intellectual level. Therefore, I’m an Old Communist Hag builds up an empathetic stance towards the generation of Emilia, which is arguably more disposed to communist nostalgia. Nevertheless, Gulea’s film shows both sides of the coin through the character of the old seamstress, Mrs Stroiescu (Valeria Seciu), who despises communism because it stole her family possessions and destroyed her career ambitions.

What makes the film adaptation different from the book are the temporal parameters of I’m an Old Communist Hag. While the original story was set towards the end of the nineties, Gulea’s film positions the narrative somewhere in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. This gesture is crucially important, as it engages the narrative to reflect on the dark side of daughter Alice’s ‘brave new world, and the capitalist US. Gulea’s film is not a film of heated intellectual debates, nevertheless, it is quite obvious that the generational conflict between mother and daughter is also fuelled by their opposing ‘affiliations’ – Emilia representing communism and Alice representing capitalism. However, the film’s tone is not judgemental, it merely holds a critical position filled with irony, claiming that every politico-economic system has its downsides.

Nicknamed as the ‘Romanian Meryl Streep,’ Luminița Gheorghiu gives a touching and sympathetic performance in the role of Emilia, showcasing both her comedic and dramatic talent. Emilia’s memory work, which early on could be considered a mental tool for escapism, gains special value during the course of the narrative, as her flashbacks gradually make her realize that the greatest part of communism ‘holds’ her own youth. The revelation essentially helps her to let go of the past and embrace the present. And as the film’s last scene suggests, this present is underlined by Third Age dynamism and freedom – something worth looking forward to. I’m an Old Communist Hag’s ageing characters – having Emilia on the front line – are active and adaptive, contradicting the ageist conceptions of old age as a burden and societal waste. In fact, their guidance and help are much needed by the youngsters, who try to prevail in the ever-changing new millennia.

The film is available on the free Romanian VOD service CINEPUB, with English subtitles.

Image credit: I’m an Old Communist Hag (Sunt o babă comunistă), directed by Stere Gulea, produced by MediaPro Pictures, 2013.

Written by: Boglárka Angéla Farkas

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