Review of Beyond the Hills (2012) by Jens T — 09 Feb 2013

Cristian Mungiu who is one of the leading figures of the Romanian New Wave, with such critical acclaimed films as "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and "Tales from the Golden Age" both dealing with issues in the communist era. But his latest film "Beyond the Hills" is set in present day Romania. It's the story about Alina, who after living many years in Germany returns to her native village to visit her former best friend Voichita, who is now a nun in an isolated Orthodox convent. Alina wants Voichita to come with her to Germany. But Voichita refuses, saying she belongs in the convent. This drives Alina mad, and after a series of violent outbursts, she is tied up to a bench, while the priest are performing exorcism.

Beyond The Hills is a masterpiece. It feels so naturalistic, with its handheld camera, its long shots, no music and all the tiny details, like all the background noises. It's as hypnotic as a Brueghel (The Hunters in the Snow) painting, with its melancholic winter landscape. When it comes to the plot, it's a great an indeed very sad story about love between women, weather it's sexual or not. The whole cast does an amazing job. I also liked the films neutrality. There's no biases towards religion or state. The movie give us a pretty reasonable point-of-view from the nuns, and we can really empathize with them and their actions. It isn't polarizing in any way. It's a story told without any biases, and the amazing fact that it stands alone without them, is pretty amazing. Thumbs up!