4 Months , 3 Weeks, 2 Days (15.)
Directed by Christian Mungiu.
Starring Amamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alex Potocean. 113 mins
A starkly realistic Romanian movie about an illegal abortion, during the last days of communism, filmed in long unbroken takes, often of people’s backs or midriffs that won the Palme D’Or at Cannes – if only they’d made it in black and white this would be calling out House in depressing art house movie bingo card
Romania is now the international jet set film criteratti’s location of choice after the new wore off of their Iranian cinema. Often the new wave of Romanian films leaven a bleak scenario with a certain gallows humour but 4 Months is quite heroically grim in that trademark Eastern Bloc way.
The bus rides trying to avoid the inspectors; buying black market cigarettes; dealing with petty officials; being assigned jobs by the state; in the final years of Ceausescu’s reign everyday life was already spectacular bleak without risking death and prison to have a termination.
Mungiu’s uses a handheld camera throughout, even when it is stationary and fixed on one view. Most film makers would have saved themselves some bother (and the cameraman some arm ache) by sticking it on a tripod but the film needs the humanity conveyed in those slight little wobbles.
The night time scenes of Otilia walking through almost pitch black terrain filled with tower blocks are horribly vivid, reminiscent of Red Road. In the hotel there a flickering light in the hallway and it’s odd to see a trademark of surrealist David Lynch in such a determinedly realistic film. (You can think of this as Inland Empire with a plot.) I’m sure it’s there to show how rubbish the service was but it illustrates how the West’s wildest cinematic nightmares were everyday matter of fact out there.
4 Months , 3 Weeks, 2 Days (15.)
Directed by Christian Mungiu.
Starring Amamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alex Potocean. 113 mins
A starkly realistic Romanian movie about an illegal abortion, during the last days of communism, filmed in long unbroken takes, often of people’s backs or midriffs that won the Palme D’Or at Cannes – if only they’d made it in black and white this would be calling out House in depressing art house movie bingo card
Romania is now the international jet set film criteratti’s location of choice after the new wore off of their Iranian cinema. Often the new wave of Romanian films leaven a bleak scenario with a certain gallows humour but 4 Months is quite heroically grim in that trademark Eastern Bloc way.
The bus rides trying to avoid the inspectors; buying black market cigarettes; dealing with petty officials; being assigned jobs by the state; in the final years of Ceausescu’s reign everyday life was already spectacular bleak without risking death and prison to have a termination.
Mungiu’s uses a handheld camera throughout, even when it is stationary and fixed on one view. Most film makers would have saved themselves some bother (and the cameraman some arm ache) by sticking it on a tripod but the film needs the humanity conveyed in those slight little wobbles.
The night time scenes of Otilia walking through almost pitch black terrain filled with tower blocks are horribly vivid, reminiscent of Red Road. In the hotel there a flickering light in the hallway and it’s odd to see a trademark of surrealist David Lynch in such a determinedly realistic film. (You can think of this as Inland Empire with a plot.) I’m sure it’s there to show how rubbish the service was but it illustrates how the West’s wildest cinematic nightmares were everyday matter of fact out there.
