Review of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) by Rainer K — 01 Jul 2012

My first examination of New Romanian Cinema was an overwhelming success.

Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a superb film with great performances (especially by Anamaria Marinca) and impressive naturalistic dialogue. The tough abortion subject is treated with devastating realism (the bleak communist urban landscape works rather bad as backdrop for a feelgood movie anyways) and some of the scenes are downright shocking.

Beside the main subject the film also deals with the problems of the communist system in 1980s Romania and never shies away from displaying the poverty and Eastern European plattenbau tediousness.

But like the famous naturalist writers at the beginning of the 20th century Mungiu achieves to shoot the scenes with some beauty. The beauty doesn't come from the scenery however, but from technical and artistical perfection that captures intimate dialogues between characters who, in fact, are criminals by Romanian law but are desperate and have bleak future outlooks anyways.

An impressively crafted film which is highly affecting, exploring questions of great volatility that arguably nobody can really answer. Hidden in bleak Ceaucescu Romania it actually doesn't matter where or when it takes place - it's a rather timeless subject thus it will survive the tests of time.