Paul Thomas Anderson is one of Hollywood's great time travelers. He took us to turn-of-the-century oil country in There Will Be Blood, the 1950s London fashion world in Phantom Thread, and the '70s San Fernando Valley, twice, in Boogie Nights and Licorice Pizza. One Battle After Another is Anderson's first film in ages set in the present day, and partly for that reason, it grabs you and even smacks you in the face in a way that his other movies haven't.
Ion Iliescu, taking control after Ceausescu's overthrow, declared a 'Front of National Salvation' and positioned himself as the savior of post-communist Romania, despite not participating in the uprising.