This film is truly bleak.
Set in 1987 Romania, it is a study of unhappiness and desperation.
It shows a young woman who wants an abortion. Abortion is illegal in the country under the rule of dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu.
She and her college roommate solicit the help of a black market doctor who will perform the abortion in exchange for money and sex.
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Director Cristian Mungiu does a wonderful job of exposing his characters’ moods at different times during the one day that takes place in the movie. It is almost like a documentary, with the camera staying unnervingly still on the subjects for long periods of time.
All of the characters are unhappy and Mungiu is also right on the money when displaying the isolation each one experiences.
That isolation is highlighted when the roommate attends a birthday party for her boyfriend’s mother. The camera shows her in the middle of people eating, drinking, and joking while she remains quiet and serious.
While the movie revolves around the circumstances of the abortion, it also gives a snapshot of life in Romania under Ceaucescu: the students live in a dark and dingy dormitory where they must share a communal bathroom. Also, buying items from the black market is a normal part of life.
The film is a perfect study of alienation and brooding unhappiness. It is all hard edges.
“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” which runs for one hour and 53 minutes, is available on DVD.
Murphy can be reached at: Lojano@comcast.net