Review of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) by Nathan F — 24 Dec 2008

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days represents a terrifying, but vital approach to cinema--Cristian Mungiu has tailed his leads with a roving unchained camera, and has created an exasperatingly tense film without resorting to artificial methods; there is absolutely no gimmickry and the suspension we feel is an exact translation of our protagonist's--Otilia--who is going through the arduous, undramatized process of securing her friend Gabriela an illegal abortion.

The scenes unravel in mostly real-time and with legitimate distress; the extended conversation and scenario with Mr. Bebe, the black-market 'doctor', is a near-flawless piece of naturalistic dialogue; the camera wanders, but does nothing more than observe.

The methodology of the procedure is documented without restraint--there are pro-choice undertones, perhaps, but there is nothing comfortable to be seen here. When Otilia leaves Gabriela to go to dinner with her boyfriend, and the camera locks itself on the conversation without succumbing to a single edit, our tension escalates as we too are forced to wait with Otilia at this tedious supper while our hearts and minds are focused on nothing but a hotel room miles away.

The look on Otilia's face mirrors our worries exactly. After the conclusion, Otilia and Gabriela sit in a diner, and Otilia remarks, "We're never going to talk about this, O.K.?" We have witnessed something educational and unnerving; useful and yet unwanted; it will linger in the back of our minds for years, but at times seems too formidable to be discussed.

It is an astonishing cinematic achievement and a stunning example of film, and its application, usage, and power--it is, hands-down, the best film of 2008.