4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days
By Caroline Planque
Posted
February 7,
2008
Last year’s Golden Palm at
Cannes will haunt you long after the curtain is drawn and the
credits have ended. Sober and quiet, yet really shocking, 4
months, 3 weeks and 2 days tells
the story of two roommates, Gabita and Otillia,
who carefully prepare
for Gabita’s illegal abortion, while communism lives its final
days in Romania. Having to hide from the authorities, family,
and friends, the two students suddenly find themselves spiraling
down a chain of events in which there is no turning back.
No help is to be expected, and they
must keep themselves together while their insides are crumbling
like shattered glass.
From a true story he was
told some 15 years ago, director Cristian Mungiu admirably
recreates the communist era’s atmosphere of suspicion as well as
the feelings of entrapment and helplessness of his two main
characters. For the two young women, the moment of truth comes
with their realization that abortion is not a banal
contraception method, but a scar they will forever bear in their
mind and flesh.
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2006 All content property of European Weekly unless where otherwise
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