The Afternoon of a Torturer

The Afternoon of a Torturer (Romanian: După-amiaza unui torționar) is a 2001 Romanian biography film directed by Lucian Pintilie. It recounts an interview with Franț Țandără, a parricide and a torturer in the Communist jails, who openly confesses to the terrible crimes he committed in his youth.^[1] Out of the estimated 1,700 Romanians whose mission under the regime was torturing political prisoners, Țandără was the only one who felt a need to confess.^[2]

The film has been described as "a story on the banality of evil and the inhumane atrocity of man".^[1] It is based on the 1999 book The Road to Damascus: Confession of a former torturer by Doina Jela,^[3] the inspiration for the journalist in the movie.