The deserved winner of 2007’s Palme d’Or, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days is an extraordinary tale of friendship under pressure that offers further proof of Romania’s current prominence in world cinema. During the last years of the Ceaucescu regime, two college students, Otilia (Marinca) and Gabita (Vasiliu), prepare to go to a hotel. But this is no holiday. Gabita is there to have an illegal abortion, and the torturous negotiations that she and Otilia must endure to secure the operation will test their friendship. The film’s staggering yet subtle power is built around long takes, quiet but effective acting and claustrophobic, colour-starved cinematography.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Directed by Cristian Mungiu