I try to watch as many Foreign Language films as I can, especially those submitted by countries to the Academy, and Alexander Nanau’s ‘Collectiv’ is Romania’s entry this year, and it ended up with a nomination. This is documentary, a thriller of sorts, and I was glad to see that this is available for streaming on Hulu.

In 2015, there was a fire in Collectiv nightclub in Bucharest, killing dozens of young people instantly. But then mysteriously, a lot of victims also started dying in the hospitals. What follows net is an investigative film about how graft and corruption in the government was responsible for those other deaths. It’s a compelling film with twists and turns that will make you say ‘is this for real,’ as you sadly realize these are all real. It’s a tad dry, though, and if the piece had just a little bit more ‘show’ it would have been perfect.