4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
Romania, 2007, 113 min.
Winner of the “Palme d’Or” at this year’s Cannes, Cristian Mungiu pieces together a bleak and terrifying tale of illegal abortion in 1987 Romania. 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days introduces us to Otilia (played by the fearless and mesmerizing Anamaria Marinca) and Gabita (played by Laura Vasiliu), two college roommates secretly trying to deal with Gabita’s unwanted pregnancy. Mungiu captures the secrecy of abortion perfectly, keeping the topic concealed until over half an hour into the film. The girls meet Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov) in a dingy hotel room, who agrees to perform the abortion for Gabita, but not before bribing both women into having sex with him first. Then, the graphic and highly disturbing makeshift abortion takes place.
For a film as horrific and disturbing as 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the entire film consumes only one day. Mungiu excellently captures the intensity and fear of the women, as well as the emptiness and dangerousness of their surroundings. This film is captivating and stomach-churning, as it exposes the fearful reality women around the world still face when dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. |
