When I recommend this documentary to people, telling them it follows the journalistic investigation into a fire that broke out in a Bucharest nightclub, killing 64, with the majority not dying of their injuries but later in hospital, their look says: ‘Not a chance.’ Their look says: ‘This film is not something I wish to see.’ I felt similarly, but trust me on this. It’s gripping. It’s electrifying. It’s explosive. It plays like a crime thriller yet with real consequences. There are revelations that will make you gasp. And it opens a can of worms. Literally.
The fire broke out at Club Colectiv in 2015 when a band’s pyrotechnics ignited the building’s soundproofing foam. The opening seconds show mobile phone footage of the flames taking hold, and it’s horrifying, but doable. By that I mean it’s not graphic, and while later there are some graphic scenes, they are never gratuitous. The club had only one exit and only one fire extinguisher, but that’s not what this is about.
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