Portretul luptatorului la tinerete

In 1944, as the Soviet Army advanced into Romania, a segment of the Romanian populace retreated “into the mountains.” This group was a mix of nationalists, fascists, liberals, non-political farmers, and middle-class individuals, all impacted by the Communist regime’s property seizures. Over a thousand armed resistance factions sought refuge in the remote forests of the Carpathian Mountains, hoping in vain for aid from the Western Allies. Among these was a group led by Ion Gavrilă-Ogoranu, who evaded capture until 1976. The film portrays the everyday life of this group, highlighting a struggle that became an end in itself, with the constant threat of capture leading to torture or even death. Starving and emotionally isolated, these young men found themselves ensnared in an unwinnable guerrilla war, lost in the South Carpathians’ terrain, while being relentlessly pursued by the secret police, the Securitate.