Theatre director Mariana Marin is planning a dramatic reenactment of the events surrounding the
1941 Odessa massacre, in which tens of thousands of Jews were murdered by the fascist regime of
Marshal Ion Antonescu with the support of the
Einsatzgruppen. She spends much of her time selecting costumes, props and sound effects, coaching and rehearsing with her largely non-professional cast, and conducting research. Mariana discovers that she might be pregnant from her affair with a married pilot, who is unenthusiastic about her artistic undertaking. Their relationship is severely damaged in the aftermath. During the rehearsals, some reenactors take issues with her directing style, her firm stance against Antonescu apologia, and her choice to work with Roma actors. Constantin Movilă, a representative from the municipal government, expresses concerns over the potential backlash over its content. Mariana is adamant that Romanians must fully accept their country's well-documented responsibility for
deportations and mass murder. Movilă, while conceding that her script is historically accurate, engages in
whataboutism and attempts to persuade her to tone down and to
relativise the crimes of the regime. Their debates come to a head when Movilă threatens to cancel the event altogether. Mariana eventually agrees to some cuts and reluctantly accepts a date with him. On the day of the performance, the actors act out—as Mariana has secretly planned in advance—the scene where Romanian soldiers massacre the Jews, leaving Movilă and the deputy mayor in attendance visibly unsettled. Public reception is mixed, and Mariana is distraught when some audience members outwardly express their bigotry and even applaud the massacre. After the show, she accepts Movilă's congratulations as well as his gift, a book on the
Herero genocide, which she flips through half-heartedly. ==Cast==