‘Dismissed’: Transilvania Review

Dirs/scr: George ve Ganaeaard, Horia Cucuta. Romaina. 2024. 100mins

Could a chain of unfortunate events be concealing a much darker truth? The decision to investigate propels Dismissed, an intriguing, low-key faux documentary in which a journalist attempts to shed light on a fatal fire at a leading tech company. Co-directors George ve Ganaeaard and Horia Cucuta make resourceful use of their modest budget to create a densely layered, thought-provoking conspiracy thriller which expands to reflect on a slew of modern evils from workplace toxicity to corporate accountability and the ethics of AI. Further festival screenings should follow the film’s world premiere at Transilvania, where it won Best Feature in Romanian Days.

The drama is in the writing and the constant drip of revelations

Ganaeaard and Cucuta have previously co-directed five shorts, and have drawn from real events for their inventive first feature. Dismissed begins as investigative journalist Gabriel Vanatoru (Daniel Popa) talks directly to camera, detailing his concerns about an event the previous day. A fire in the server room of Futura AI left one employee dead but, in less than 24 hours, investigations have concluded and the Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed the case. Something doesn’t add up. Over the course of the film, Vanatoru attempts to interview as many people connected to the case as possible, in an attempt to reach an understanding that will allow him to challenge the official version of events.

Vanatoru’s earliest interview is with Andreea Mitu (Dana Marineci), the communications manager of Futura AI. She explains how systems failures led to overheating and a short circuiting, resulting in the fire which claimed the life of employee Eremia Tofan – a figure we never see. Marineci conveys the implacable face of a corporate figure who appears helpful and concerned but will never give an inch. The interview is conducted in a drably anonymous corporate setting and that will be the case throughout, apart from a couple of moments with Eremia’s parents who are distraught at the loss of their son.

At first, we learn that Eremia was an “exemplary employee” at Futura AI and was considered a “good, gentle man” who believed his job as a content moderator would make the world a better place. Nothing explains what he was doing there on the night of the fire, or why he died. Testimony shifts towards painting Eremia as a rebel and malcontent who had changed after his involvement with a religious group. Surely, vilifying the victim is an attempt to distract from the truth?  All of the interviews add to our understanding about the work done at Futura AI, the connections between those involved and life in the workplace, and combine to plant the possibility of cover-ups, lies and corruption.

The film unfolds in a methodical fashion, shaping a narrative then upending it and building towards a more complex picture. Everything is revealed via one-to-one conversations where those involved often seem surprisingly cooperative and unguarded. The approach seems to honour the tenets of the Romanian New Wave whilst allying them to the kind of conspiracy thriller (The Parallax View, Three Days Of The Condor etc) that became a Hollywood staple in the 1970s. 

Dismissed is a little unvarying as Vanatoru interviews an assembly line of friends, colleagues, bosses and even Radu Dumitru (Emilian Oprea), the smug CEO of Futura AI. There are no dramatic fireworks, no expensive flashbacks or reconstructions. We never glimpse the central event. The drama is in the writing and the constant drip of revelations that play into general fears about the use and ownership of AI. There is enough plausibility for it to remain convincing – and Orwell’s 1984 is never far from the viewer’s mind.

Daniel Popa’s understated central performance is the film’s solid foundation; the faintest smile or the slightest frown reveals his scepticism about the line he is being fed, and whether the truth will ever see the light of day.