The Valley Resounds (1949)

In 1948, in a time when the call for voluntary work and intense propaganda concerning the class struggle is in full swing, thousands of young people from all over the country have gathered in the Defile of Jiu to build a railroad. Their enthusiasm is shown in opposition with the attitude of those who want to sabotage the works: reactionary engineers and their tools, manipulated by the banker Goguleanu from Bucharest. The young brigadier Petre loses his life during a sabotage mission orchestrated by the engineer Poenaru and by the foreman Crețu. The work on the building site is reinforced by the arrival of new workers such as Radu – Petre’s brother who is a miner in Lupeni – and Ion – a peasant coming from the same village as the lead brigadier, Ileana -, thus infirming the alarmist rumors according to which the project is not viable. Two other characters are important in the building site’s scenery, namely the brigadier Sanda, with whom Crețu is hopelessly in love with, but who is won over by Radu, and Niki Goguleanu, the banker’s nephew, a ridiculous character, who has come from Bumbeşti-Livezeni in spite of his family. Creţu’s attempt to blow up the tunnel is shattered by Ion. The fight between the two ends with the death of the saboteur, who falls into a chasm. The successful drilling of the tunnel triggers the general enthusiasm of the young brigadiers.