One of the most fascinating films about a massive political scandal that most have never heard of, Alexander Nanau’s documentary “Collective” tracks the Romanian newspaper Sports Gazette as it investigates a large-scale medical cover-up that extends into the upper echelons of the government. Beginning with the newsroom, before expanding its scope, Nanau, wisely, lets his subjects take over the film, content to linger in press conferences and meetings, as both the government and press attempt to make sense of the escalating series of medical catastrophes. While Nanau’s film may not be revelatory in terms of form or delivery, the story at the heart of “Collective” is one of the most fascinating cover-ups in recent memory and the film is nothing short of a nail-biting thriller.
Beginning in 2015, when a fire breaks out at the Bucharest nightclub Colectiv, in which 27 people were killed on-site and over 100 more were seriously injured, Romania’s Minister of Health promised the best in treatment for the burn victims. Despite the supposed strict health standards imposed in hospitals, many more victims died in the subsequent months, leading journalist Catalin Tolontan and his newspaper to investigate the conditions within the hospitals. What they find out, unsurprisingly, points to a large network of bribes and diluted medical supplies within Bucharest’s hospitals, implicating the Health Minister in the process. Upon publishing, this news is met with shock and condemnation from most of Romania.
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Tolontan, the film’s de-facto protagonist and editor of the Gazette, is portrayed as a focused, uncompromising journalist. The majority of the film’s first act concentrated on his face, as he frantically calls sources and officials, seeking clarification and comments. When attacked by media critics, after publishing, and a target of his investigation has committed suicide, he is steadfast in his belief that blame does not lay with him or his fellow journalists as he was merely reporting the truth. What might be the end of the story, in which the dogged journalists uncover a widespread crime is only the beginning for “Collective,” as the aftermath of such a scandal and the problems that arise come into focus.
Upon publication, the film splits between three foci, tracking Tolontan, newly hired Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu, and Colectiv survivor Mariana Oprea, who despite her burns and her loss of a hand turns her trauma into art. These stories, of course, are interrelated, as Voiculescu attempts to understand Oprea’s trauma (and eventually hangs her artwork throughout his office) and Tolontan questions if Voiculescu is actually committed to change or just another in a long line of corrupt officials. Yet, Voiculescu becomes, in the latter half, the subject, as he attempts to enact dramatic reforms on the health infrastructure. Championing transparency, including inviting the film crew to follow him, Voiculescu quickly realizes that radical reform isn’t so easy.
Despite Voiculescu’s desperate attempts for change and transparency, in the end, elections are looming, and he becomes the target of pundits, questioning his allegiance to Romania. What happens during those elections, well, can probably be guessed just by looking at the world around us, but Nanau never editorializes, despite making his ideological stance quite clear. Instead, “Collective” focuses on the micro-changes that eventually lead to sweeping reform and the journalists who continually fight to expose the truth, even if, in the end, the public rarely cares.
Sure, we can make parallels to our own domestic problems, including the Romanian government’s complete disregard for a free press, but to do so is to gloss over the breadth of this fascinating story. Nanau wisely doesn’t attach a global perspective to his film, instead focusing entirely on Romania and the country’s attempts at reform. As is often the case, the idealists are halted, but they continue to fight for transparency, and accept that even incremental change is change nonetheless. [A]