A college student named Otilia (Anamarie Marinca) helps her roommate Gabriela (Laura Vasiliu) get an abortion, complicated by the fact that it is 1987 Communist Romania and abortions are very illegal.

CRITIQUE

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days won the Palm D’Or as the Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival; it should have been a major Academy Award contender too, except that the Oscar’s complex rules for Best Foreign-Language Film nominees let this film fall through the cracks.  And it’s a shame, because this is one of the more-memorable films of recent years, a stark, dramatic look at two friends trying to get one an abortion in 1987 Communist Romania.

The main character here is Otilia, the friend not getting the abortion, and she really carries the movie throughout, as it follows these characters through about a half-day’s action.  Otilia spends the whole moving acting selflessly, from trying to help out her pregnant friend Gabriela through a string of complications to trying to keep her own boyfriend happy, and actress Anamarie Marinca does a very solid job in this role.

I’m not going to talk about the plot, because what’s involving about this movie is really being completely in the moment with these characters, and not knowing what is going to happen next.  This is a somewhat small tale, relying on a lot of long shots and a lot of dialogue; at times this feels somewhat like a filmed play.  But the writing is so good (particularly a long, chilling hotel room sequence that is the film’s best) that it never feels dull, while the handheld camera work here really gives the sense that we are there with the characters.

Ultimately this film does feel very European in a sense, it is very focused on characters and slice-of-life reality, more than big plot twists and complications, while the movie is also in Romanian, with English subtitles.  But though this is an often downbeat, serious drama, those who give it a chance will find a lot to like here.

THE VIDEO

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is presented in widescreen.  The look is very good throughout, and the transfer is strong.

THE AUDIO

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is presented in Romanian Dolby Digital.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through clear.  There are English and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

1 Month With 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a 15–minute film that takes a look at a monthlong experiment to drive the film to Romanian towns with no movie theaters and show it on a makeshift screen.  It’s interesting, though there is too much focus on the projectionists.

There is a 25-minute Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Christian Mungiu in Romanian; he talks about the film.

There is a 6-minute Interview with Cinematographer Oleg Mutu, who talks about the lighting and the set design.

FINAL THOUGHT