4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2008) Unlike an American filmmaker who might get caught up in the politics of birth control, Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu crafts a nonjudgmental narrative of two…
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days | HARD TIMES Anamaria Marinca in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days , Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu's unflinching look at two 1980s students negotiating a…
Image credit: Adi Paduretu
HARD TIMES Anamaria Marinca in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu's unflinching look at two 1980s students negotiating a black-market abortion
EW's GRADE
A-

Details Release Date: Jun 17, 2008; DVD Release Date: Jun 17, 2008; Movie Rated: Unrated; Genre: Drama; With: Vlad Ivanov and Anamaria Marinca; Distributor: IFC Films

Unlike an American filmmaker who might get caught up in the politics of birth control, Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu crafts a nonjudgmental narrative of two 1980s college students negotiating a black-market abortion in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. There's something beautifully raw in his visual simplicity — no fast cuts, no close-ups — that captures the drab oppressiveness of the Communist regime and gray complexities of real life. EXTRAS In a doc, Mungiu says he filmed the disturbing bathroom scene two ways; ultimately, he abandoned his heroine's perspective for the lingering shot that haunts the whole story. A-

Originally posted Jun 13, 2008 Published in issue #998 Jun 20, 2008 Order article reprints