Abstract:

One of the most important traits of Romanian fiction films released during the 1960s is their emphasis on leisure and moderate consumption, their enthusiasm for industrialization and urbanization, their reflection of a socialist society which gives its citizens the opportunity to have a decent standard of living — in brief, an emphasis on the many facets of socialist modernity. The 1960s are, indeed, for socialist Romania a period characterized by prosperity and a relative openness towards Western influences. One such influence is that of Western modern cinema. This paper reflects upon the clash of values inherent in Romanian modern cinema of the 1960s; infused by anxieties prevalent in the other, Western modernization project, as they were reflected in Western cinema, Romanian modern films present an ambiguous and self-critical version of socialist modernity, which in some cases was harshly sanctioned by Romanian film officials and state apparatchiks.

Key words: socialist modernity, modernism, cinematic modernism, Western influence, socialist realism