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4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days - Palme d'Or 2007Palme d'Or in Cannes for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 DaysI finally found a good quality film clip of this truly beautiful film, that won the Golden Palm at 2007 Cannes Film festival. Found at monstersandcritics.com. By DPA May 27, 2007 Cannes, France - Romanian director Cristian Mungiu on Sunday won the Palme d'Or for best film of the 2007 Cannes International Film Festival for his movie 4 Luni, 3 Saptamini si 2 Zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days).
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Pitch perfect and brilliantly acted, "4 Months,
3 Weeks & 2 Days" is a stunning achievement, helmed with a purity and
honesty that captures not just the illegal abortion story at its core but the
constant, unremarked negotiations necessary for survival in the final days of
the Soviet bloc. Showcasing all the elements of new Romanian cinema -- long
takes, controlled camera and an astonishing ear for natural dialogue -- Cristian
Mungiu's masterly film plays only one false note in an otherwise beautifully
textured story. Further proof of Romania's new prominence in the film world, pic
will attract discerning auds in Stateside and Euro arthouses.
Certain to be spoken of with the same regard as "The Death of Mr.
Lazarescu," with which it shares d.p. Oleg Mutu, pic is envisioned, like
that surprise hit, as the first in a series, ironically titled "Tales From
the Golden Age." Mungiu's goal is to visualize the overwhelming weight of
the soul-destroying compromises of life during the Ceausescu years through
clear-eyed, deeply humane stories. If "4 Months" is anything to go by,
what Mungiu calls "urban legends" are more urban tragedies, chosen
from the thousands of tales illustrating the small nicks and cuts not to the
flesh but to the spirit.
Mungiu shoots each scene in one take, the camera either remaining steady as
characters pass in and out of the frame, or trailing them as they walk. At a
college dorm in 1987, roommates Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) and Otilia (Anamaria
Marinca) go over the necessities for the coming day. Though it's not yet clear
what's making her almost paralytically nervous, Gabita remains in the room while
the pragmatic Otilia buys, barters and collects soap, cigarettes, money, etc.
from schoolfriends and her b.f., Adi (Alex Potocean).
From the dorm Otilia heads to the hotel where Gabita booked a room, but the
unfriendly receptionist claims to have no reservation and she's forced to look
elsewhere. Once that's arranged, she goes to the rendezvous point to meet Mr.
Bebe (Vlad Ivanov), a stone-faced illegal abortionist who's not pleased that his
precise instructions have not been met.
Bebe is a bully, using criticism as a way of overcoming any resistance.
Discovering that Gabita is further along in her pregnancy than she claimed, he
exacts a high price: not just money, but the sexual favors of both women before
he'll proceed. Panicked negotiations follow, but they submit.
With the rapes quickly over, Bebe assumes an almost solicitous bedside manner
and commences with the abortion. The camera is fixed in another long take,
Gabita's stretched-out body, knees up, extending across the entire widescreen.
Mungiu has a masterly ability to remain discreet while ratcheting up the
discomfort level: the trust between the camera and the characters, and the
respect Mungiu has for these women, never falters. After inserting a probe and
injecting some fluid, Bebe tells them what to do when the fetus is rejected, and
leaves.
When you expect cinematic time to pass more quickly, it's something of a
shock to realize it's still light out when Otilia reluctantly leaves the hotel
to attend Adi's mother's birthday party. With the camera centered on Otilia,
tightly hemmed in by the other guests at table, a sense of discomfort takes
hold, the young woman silently forcing down a maelstrom of emotions until they
nearly burst through the surface. It's a remarkable, sustained scene with an
extraordinary performance at its center. She escapes as soon as possible, back
to the hotel room, and Gabita.
Obviously, this is no "Vera Drake" knock-off, though there is more
than a superficial similarity between Mike Leigh's and Mungiu's intense
concentration on character. Here the style is even more stripped down, though
the rigidity of form is so naturally achieved that the complexities are
practically hidden from view. So careful at focusing only on what's essential,
Mungiu makes only one misstep when he lingers on a fetus -- it's a moment
completely out of keeping with the rest of the film and serves only as wasted
shock value.
Foremost among the many revelations is Marinca's stellar turn as Otilia. It's
not just the way she transforms scripted dialogue into real-speak (a quality
shared by the rest of the stellar cast), but her ability to convey all her inner
struggles in silence. Vasiliu is equally fine, a frightened young woman
desperate to end her ordeal.
Just as he proved with "Mr. Lazarescu," d.p. Mutu (also producing)
achieves miraculous effects with his observational camera, capturing all the
necessities without ever feeling voyeuristic. His spaces, even when outside,
remain claustrophobic -- doors never provide escape, and night, with its sudden,
unknown sounds, is especially menacing. Colors are all muted cement tones,
capturing the crushing ugliness of life in the Eastern bloc.
Camera (color, widescreen), Oleg Mutu; editor,
Dana Bunescu; production designer, Mihaela Poenaru; costume designer, Dana
Istrate; sound (Dolby), Titi Fleancu, Dana Bunescu, Cristian Tarnovetchi; sound
mix, Cristinel Sirli; assistant producer, Philippe Avril; associate producer,
Dan Burlac; casting, Catalin Dordea. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival
(competing), May 16, 2007. Running time: 113 MIN.
With: Liliana Mocanu, Tania Popa, Teo Corban,
Cerasela Iosifescu, Doru Ana, Eugenia Bosanceanu, Ioan Sabdaru, Cristina Buburuz,
Marioara Sterian, Emil Coseru, Georgeta Paduraru Burdujan, Geo Dobre.
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Romanian
director Cristian Mungiu (L) with cast member Romanian actress Laura Vasiliu.
EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA
Moreover, nearly 17 years after the movie industry across Central and Eastern
Europe was almost wiped out by the implosion of communism, this year's Cannes
has helped to underscore the resurgence in moviemaking across the region with a
raft of Eastern European films shown across the festival.