”Collective,” April 4, 2021 (2020), DVD. Stellar Romanian documentary up for both Best Documentary and Best Foreign Language Oscars. I don’t have a clue as to how they managed to construct this in real time, except for the willingness of certain journalists and officials to 1) know what they had and document the process; and 2) operate with unprecedented candor and honesty. This film documents the horrific story of corruptions past, present, and future of the Romanian healthcare and political systems. They cannot be separated. It began in 2015 with the terrifying fire at the music club “Colectiv” that, because of an absence of exits, caused 26 deaths at the scene. These were followed by 38 deaths in hospital, most from bacteriological infection. This is a real-time study of both the efforts of the daily sporting newspaper to get to the bottom of these crimes and the efforts of government officials to, first, cover up, and then after being replaced, try to begin to change the laws and cultures that create a system that the minister of health calls 90% corrupt. It is an astounding indictment of a culture built on state-sanctioned venality, political cowardice, murder, threats against family of whistleblowers, demagogy, faux nationalist-populism, and so much more sustained through both patronage, corruption, bribery, kickbacks, force, and a cozy relationship with the majority of the media. It is a nightmarish tale. It is absolutely gripping. The Romanian Social Democratic Party is shown as particularly demagogic and criminal. There are reasons it was suspended from the Party of European Socialists. And if you haven’t already figured it out, it does not end well. But please, remember the past year of lies, coverups, political and medical corruption and cowardice, mass murder, threats, rank demagogy, faux nationalist-populism, and then add in racism that led to not 64 but coming onto six hundred thousand deaths in this country. And remember the horrible scrubbing of data committed by the Trump administration as they decamped. And for added chastening, read the Spotlight report in the April 4, 2021, Boston Globe (pp 1+, online April 3) that chronicles the monetary ties of hospital CEOs to biotech/pharma firms in the Boston area, and the damage in morale this has worked in their institutions during this year of plague.