4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days

Directed By Cristian Mungiu

After doing a few interviews today and having part of our crew come down ill, I decided to try to catch another film before going home.  I chose a film with an excellent pedigree,  the winner of the Cannes’ Palm d’Or 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.  This film is a fantastic study of a Romania that was under the strong rule of the communist regime.  We see the repressed society struggle with almost every aspect of life.  Finding a certain brand of soap or cigarettes is a chore in this world.

A young girl named Gabita is pregnant and needs to have an abortion.  It is highly illegal in communist Romania in the 80’s.  Yet somehow they have managed to find someone to do the procedure.  Gabita’s roommate and best friend Otilia is running all sorts of errands for her, and taking care of all the ins and outs of the preparation.  She is also trying to live her own life.  The film is seen from the perspective of the roommate Otilia.  She takes care of all of Gabita’s needs.  She gets the money together.  She books the hotel.  She meets the man doing the procedure.  She allows herself to be abused.   Because of the communist society Gabita has felt the need to with hold information and sometimes tell complete untruths.  Untruths that come back to cause problems for Otilia.  In the end we see the futility and fear that infects her very life and those all around her.

The acting from Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) is like watching a masterclass in character development.  She is amazing.  Director Cristian Mungiu captures every nuance in this brilliant film.  He shot most of the film in some of the quietest and longest takes I have seen on film in a long time.  The suspense and drama that this builds throughout the film are breathtaking.  From the moment Otilia brings the man into the hotel room to administer the abortion this film is like a roller coaster ride.  By the end even the quiet and shadows seem bigger and more horrible.  This is a film that seemed to be inspired cinematically by the films of Alfred Hitchcock.  It has been picked up for distribution by IFC Films.  If you get a chance to see this movie you truly must.  This is one of the best foreign films I have ever had the pleasure to see in the last ten years.

Kristoffershane