Souls from the communist blocs

Alexandru Ionescu

Film review

Some fierce anti-communist claims, supported by conservative right-wing circles, argued that people who lived before 1990 were deprived of an inner life. According to these claims, the average person during communism was entirely devoted to the tasks assigned to them by their bosses, factories, plants, and party secretaries. They were focused solely on working to build socialism and raising a family. This was presented as an extremely external life – people were not interested in anything other than fulfilling the plan and working in production.

Although this may sound plausible to some, any projection from the present onto past societies is a caricature and an exaggeration aimed at breaking with the past and demonising it. Of course, ordinary people during communism also had a rich inner life, filled with imagination and hopes that transcended reality. Romanian cinema from that period reflects this inner world. A good example is the 1967 film Șeful sectorului suflete (The Head of the Souls Sector), directed by Gheorghe Vitanidis.

Plot and characters

Magdalena is a chemist working at “Technofrig” (it is unclear what this was in communist Romania), who has a relationship with Horațiu Y. Horațiu. He is a selfish and jealous man, although he is not clearly defined in the film, as this is one of Toma Caragiu’s more limited roles. Meanwhile, in the mountains, meteorologist Gore thinks about a woman he met at a Christmas party, and his colleague Costica (Mircea Crisan) supports his timid hopes.

The woman Gore met is Magdalena, and she has not forgotten him. She idealises him to such an extent that one evening, when she is alone, she looks in the mirror and gives free rein to her imagination. She imagines him as a divine figure, head of the “Souls Sector” in the People’s Council (probably the Bucharest City Hall during Ceausescu’s time). This is an institution that was automated at the time, with bureaucracy, files, and staff. The purpose of this work? To overcome behavioral shortcomings such as envy, anger, careerism, possessiveness, and emotional problems. The assistant to this “boss of souls” is also an idealized version of Costica.

This ideal version of Gore is the complete opposite of his real image. While the real Gore is shy and hesitant, the idealized version in Magdalena’s mind is decisive, knows what to do at all times, and has exemplary diction. Despite his ideal image, the “boss of the soul sector” has a problem – Horațiu Y. Horațiu

Hidden humor and female emancipation

Toma Caragiu has the unique ability to use subversive humor that distracts from the plot of the film and makes you sympathize with the character, no matter how unpleasant he is. Horațiu Y. Horațiu is a jealous man who is certain that Magdalena must become his wife. Despite these traits, Toma Caragiu manages to imbue his character with charm and mystery. Notice how charmingly he hums after Magdalena tells him she doesn’t love him, with an expression of amused curiosity, while in fact he pretends not to see Costica in Magdalena’s kitchen, and his posture and head are slightly turned towards the other character, curious but not particularly surprised.

“The Head of the Souls Sector” can be seen as a film about female emancipation during Romanian communism. Magdalena breaks up with her egocentric partner and defends her point of view with lines such as: “Ever since I started thinking, I stopped changing my mind.” When Horațiu asks her if she wants to be alone, she replies: “I think you misunderstood me, not alone, but free.” “Who do you belong to then?” asks Caragiu’s character in surprise. “Only to myself,” she replies.

This film presents the image of an emancipated woman in a socialist regime. We see women working in scientific circles, and in the “soul sector” there are departments dealing with education, culture, and social assistance. In a world where culture and scientific research are important, Gore gives Magdalena scientific books as gifts, and the dialogue between the characters is motivated by the words and text: “Another admirer? More flowers.”

Symbolism and messages

Magdalena’s idealistic fantasy is superimposed on the socio-economic framework of Romanian socialism. The “Soul” sector is located in the People’s Council and consists of a huge hall with elements resembling an integrated circuit, but also with filing cabinets symbolizing the bureaucracy of the time. The work is carried out according to a plan to create a “map of the human soul and the fluctuations of spiritual burnouts,” and the head of this sector is “the first cosmonaut of the human soul.” Is this a vision of automation? A more attentive critic would ask whether the form of the protagonist’s fantasies shows the rhetoric of the regime penetrating deep into people’s minds.

The imaginary is always shaped by the social, and in George Vitanidis’ film we see an innocent fantasy. The soul is also part of the plan, with each case of “soul” being a “force majeure.” Magdalena and Gore, “the head of the soul sector,” arrive at the People’s Council flying in a car, similar to the night flight scene in Superman (1978).

However, ownership is not so innocent. Horațiu Y. Horațiu is not in love, he is an owner. “Or has private property been abolished?” reads one of the lines in the film. These powerful and true words are part of a film whose main idea is to fight against petty bourgeois social advancement and human shortcomings.

What can we learn from this unusual film? Imagination is a world unto itself, which may not differ much from the real world, but certainly helps us find answers to the difficulties in it. We need to exercise this ability more often. It will help us discover the ultimate exploiter, among other things. And the future master Beligan is here something like the Great Gazoo, appearing at night at the car window. Dressed in white, of course, as befits any ghost that appears when fantasy takes over.

About the film:

• Title: “The Head of the Souls Sector” (1967)
• Director: Gheorghe Vitanidis
• Cast: Irina Petrescu, Radu Beligan, Toma Caragiu

Photo: Screenshot from the movie (source: YouTube)

The movie “The Head of the Souls Sector”

The movie can be watched with auto-generated subtitles in English here:

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