George Awsumb, rapidly approaching retirement but still full of opinions, rational or otherwise, blogs about current events, trends, films, pop culture and whatever else bugs him.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days is the Cannes Film Festival winner from director Cristin Mungiu. It recreates the bleak period of suspicion and black markets in Romania just before the fall of its dictator Ceaucescu. With this background, the director chooses cinema verite to tell his story. There are no fancy cuts or even cross-cuts between the principal actors. The lighting is restrained at times or overlit at others. Most of the shots are medium shots of two people talking. Sounds grim, huh? That's just what the director wanted. This is the uncomplicated story of two roommates at college who seek out an abortionist. The more naive of the two has allowed her pregnancy to go on much too long (see title), and they are forced to use an unscrupulous pig of a man for the operation. Since this is against the law, the film builds suspense with the questions of whether or not they will be discovered and whether or not the operation will succeed. The director cleverly pits these two women against a number of men besides the abortionist. There is the roommate's boy friend who treats her roughly and calls it caring. There are the hotel employees who snicker at the women. The abortion itself is shown in detail, and the graphic shot of the fetus on the bathroom floor will linger in the viewer's memory. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days is not for the squeamish, but it is a strong statement about dictatorships, both national and personal.

No comments: