Movie review: ‘The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu’

Crafted by Romanian filmmaker Andrei Ujic? (with phenomenal editing and sound design by Dana Bunescu) from about 1,000 hours of footage covering 25 years, “The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu” comprises state visits, speeches and holidays by the former despot, providing a startling sense of dictatorial monomania.

The film opens and closes with rough video of the hasty trial before Ceausescu and his wife were executed in 1989, and even there, he is defiant and self-regarding to the very end. With its hefty running time, the film builds an unexpected emotional resonance, though never exactly sympathy, as over the years Ceausescu seems to drift further and further into his fantasy vision of himself, making the film like a loop that repeats endlessly in his head.

A string of dignitaries, including presidents Nixon and Carter, Queen Elizabeth, Mikhail Gorbachev and Mao Tse-tung, all become but bit players to Ceausescu. Only North Korea’s Kim Il-sung seems up to the task of honoring and besting him — the massive production number for Ceausescu’s arrival and reception by streets filled with people and a stadium staged with synchronized waving, placards and dancing is the stuff of a workers’ paradise pantomime, life itself re-rendered as stock footage.

“The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu.” No MPAA rating. In Romanian with English subtitles. Running time: 3 hours. At Laemmle’s Music Hall 3, Beverly Hills.