Film Review: 4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days

The Romanian film 4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days opens at the Grand Cinema today. Winner of the Palm d’Or at Cannes last year, it was widely considered likely to take “Best Foreign Language Film” at the Oscars … until it didn’t even make the short list.

This movie is rough and brutal emotionally. The story is very simple, and the film only shows us most of a single day. We start with two roommates, Gabi and Otilia. Gabi needs an abortion (no points for figuring out how far along she is). Unfortunately for both of them, Gabi takes no responsibility for anything, lies, and doesn’t listen. If her friend were anyone but Otilia, this would be the last day of their friendship.

The story is set in 1987 Romania under communism. Abortion is illegal, so special arrangements have to be made to have the abortion at a hotel. The actor playing the abortionist dominates every scene he’s in. He’s ruthless and demanding and Gabi hasn’t given herself many other options by waiting so long.

The movie is shot long take after long take without music. It brings the focus onto the three performances, which are all very good. At times, this makes the film a little boring. But most of the time, it serves to heighten the drama and make the difficult scenes that much more devastating. When you don’t cut away from a difficult scene, it very effectively places the viewer in the trapped world of the characters.

The film is emotional and at times hard to take because of its intensity. It doesn’t shy away from anything. If you’re up for it, it’s a film that will stay with you for a long time.

Link to the Grand Cinema

Link to IMDb

Erik Hanberg blogs at Erikemery.com and is a regular contributor to Exit133.