Genre: Drama
It is certainly one of the big surprises of the film almost ended in 2007 that a country can count themselves among the winners, which previously could only rarely make for great attention – Romania. As well as honorable mention in the collateral lines “Un Certain Regard at Cannes Cannes for Cristian Nemescus California Dreamin ‘, it was winning the Palme d’Or, especially for the hitherto largely unknown film director Cristian Mungiu, who made a stir, though his film during throughout the Festival as one of the hot contenders for the top prize had been considered. No wonder then, that quickly saying by the “Nouvelle vague roumaine” made the rounds. Since then, the film has made its way, was celebrated at many festivals and shows and of course for the European Film Award nomination, where he is considered one of the top favorites. It is 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days / 4 Luni, 3 saptamini si 2 Zile no light fare, but bulky, dark auteur cinema of the old school, a film that is so true in many things, so lifelike that, in addition all the joy, experience such a film may not, its intensity was sore.
The movie is set in a dreary day in 1987 in a small town somewhere in Romania. In a gray, terribly bleak dormitory share the two friends Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) and Gabita (Laura Vasiliu), their scanty room, as well as matters of everyday needs that can be given only on the black market. The country has become under dictator Nicolai Ceaucescu one of the poorest countries in Europe, the regime is corrupt and sickens as the country towards the end, but the silver lining of the liberation from the yoke of communist rule is shown not yet on the horizon – are the people much too busy to come to make ends meet. As Gabita an unplanned pregnancy, she has a problem from which there is seemingly no way out: In Romania, abortion has been banned since 1966, but she sees no way to keep the child and raise them. Together, the two women have been preparing a secret abortion with military precision, from friends and family to borrow money and rented a room in which the operation should be performed. Then Gabita is rejected at the front desk and must be in a different, much more expensive hotel hire a lodging, which is shrinking the already small budget further. The abortionist Bebe (Vlad Ivanov) proves to be a real problem, because when he finds that Gabitas pregnancy has progressed much further than expected, he blackmails the two young women and calls on sex as a reward for his services. It begins an agonizing and humiliating torture, and at the end of the day Gabita and Otilia will no longer be the same …
Tales from the golden age , which is the title of a large-scale project as a trilogy where Cristian Mungiu and his works he presents the first part of this film. What to link the films together is the overriding theme: the basis of individual fates Mungiu wants to tell of life under Ceausescu, in unflattering, close to the everyday events, to the concerns and needs of ordinary Romanians and Romanians, but will also quickly became clear that this period was perhaps for the few in power is truly golden. Exactly this is expressed in every scene, every setting from 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days / 4 Luni, 3 saptamini si 2 Zile, in grand, very dense and the main actresses painful scenes near Mungiu makes private fortunes just as visible as the all the misery of the Romanian society in which people had lost all hope long ago, in which it was only for survival and the only hint at the wonderful solidarity and friendship between Otilia and Gabita that humanity a last defense against the brutalization and perfect may be the leaden oppressive hopelessness.
We can therefore look forward to the further development of the Romanian film, but can mainly be on the next film Cristian Mungius that points to an impressive way, as moving and clear-sighted everyday stories of ordinary people when she can put on such an intense, unaffected manner.
(Joachim Kurz)
Title: 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days Original Title: 4 Luni, 3 saptamini si 2 Zile Country of production: Romania Production year: ( #) 2007 Length: 113 (Min) of material: Concorde Film Distribution
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