Our take
How far would you go to help a friend? The answer to this question might turn out quite differently after you have lived through the 2-hour squalor of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Set in the bleak late-1980s reality of Communist Romania, under the ironclad rule of Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, Anamaria Marinca and Laura Vasilu play Otilia and Gabriela, two small-town students. Otilia volunteers to help Gabriela go through with an illegal abortion, which takes place in a shoddy hotel room with the help of a man named Bebe (played by Vlad Ivanov). When things don’t go as planned, they find their situations quickly going from very bad to outright horrible. Powerful performances, a realistic script, and director Cristian Mungiu’s technical finesse create an experience that will force you to relive the desperation the two women must endure. Little wonder that it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2007.
What it won
Other
1 nom
The story
Two college roommates have 24 hours to make the ultimate choice as they finalize arrangements for a black market abortion.
Elsewhere
"4 Months sounds more or less unwatchable. [Director] Mungiu's pacing is so sure, however, in its switching from loose to taut, and the concentration of his leading lady so unwavering, that the movie feels more like a thriller than a moody wallow."
— Anthony Lane
"[Christian] Mungiu has taken a leap forward into bold, focused storytelling."
— Kristin M. Jones
The details
Who picked it
Safaa Sultan is a contributing writer at A Good Movie to Watch, reviewing films and shows across the major streaming services.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something comes out of nowhere and hits you in your freaking face. Razer sharp script with powerful performances, this film will drive you nuts at times but you wouldn’t have it any other way. Tension keeps on rising throughout the film; thrilling, is a good word to describe this film’s experience. I was shocked to find out this film wasn’t even nominated for the Oscar, it should easily have won the Oscar for foreign language that year but what do we know, right? There’s lot of ignorance at the Academy, critiques there either don’t understand real films or choose not to appreciate films that are different from their’s.
Excellent storytelling. The script doesn’t make up some new things to get the movie-going. Outstanding acting, very close to real life. Definitely worth a watch