"...Let's not talk about this ever again."
Release Year: 2008
Country: Romania
Genre: Social drama
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Screenwriter: Cristian Mungiu
Cinematography: Oleg Mutu
Sound: Constantin Fleancu
Editing: Dana Bunescu
Actors: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov
Unwanted pregnancy and the inevitable dilemma that comes after it is possibly the biggest internal conflict a human being could ever have, and consequently has been used as dramatic plot instrument in countless stories. Somewhat surprisingly though, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days is not really about the choice of keeping the baby or not. The choice was already made by the pregnant character to abort it, and there is barely any discussion regarding that decision. Instead, it is about the external elements of the abortion process, not on the moral implication of the practice itself or any 'will-I-or-won't-I' internal drama.
Our main protagonist is the blond Otilia Mihartescu (Marinca), the college roommate of Gabriela Dragut (Vasiliu), who is pregnant (the age of her pregnancy is right there on the title, although Gabriela initially lied about it). The two are planning to have abortion on Gabriela by using the service of one Mr. Bebe (Ivanov). However, abortion was an illegal practice during the times of the Communist Romania, and Otilia (who is in charge of all the arrangement) has to pass numerous obstacles as she tries to help her troubled friend.
Our main protagonist is the blond Otilia Mihartescu (Marinca), the college roommate of Gabriela Dragut (Vasiliu), who is pregnant (the age of her pregnancy is right there on the title, although Gabriela initially lied about it). The two are planning to have abortion on Gabriela by using the service of one Mr. Bebe (Ivanov). However, abortion was an illegal practice during the times of the Communist Romania, and Otilia (who is in charge of all the arrangement) has to pass numerous obstacles as she tries to help her troubled friend.
The most interesting thing about 4 Months is that it focused much more on the pregnant girl's friend. We are put in Otilia's point of view for most of the time, and thus we come to learn how she arranges the meeting with Mr. Bebe, how she struggles with hotel registration, and how she still does all this even though she has important appointment with her boyfriend's family on the same day. In comparison, we hardly know anything about Gabriela, except that she seems to be a mostly clueless girl who is content enough to leave everything in Otilia's hands; we're also not told about the how, where, and with whom she got pregnant. This is an interesting approach, and what separates 4 Months from other movies featuring similar theme.
One of several widely praised Romanian movies in the late 2000s (Death of Mr. Lazarescu, 12:08 East of Bucharest), 4 Months is an artful 'new wave' film with long camera takes, minimalist style, and dense themes. It is also very low on exposition, a sign that best signifies the movie's unconventionality and its respect toward the audience's intelligence. Instead of being told explicitly about the whole context of the story, we are left to logically deduce what is going on by watching the characters' (mostly Otilia) actions. Like many movies of this kind, dialogues exist not as a tool to inform the audience, but as a natural representation of real life conversations.
One of several widely praised Romanian movies in the late 2000s (Death of Mr. Lazarescu, 12:08 East of Bucharest), 4 Months is an artful 'new wave' film with long camera takes, minimalist style, and dense themes. It is also very low on exposition, a sign that best signifies the movie's unconventionality and its respect toward the audience's intelligence. Instead of being told explicitly about the whole context of the story, we are left to logically deduce what is going on by watching the characters' (mostly Otilia) actions. Like many movies of this kind, dialogues exist not as a tool to inform the audience, but as a natural representation of real life conversations.
There is a lot of things happened in 4 Months, but many of them are only being implied and never discussed outright.
[Spoiler]
One such scenes happens right before the abortion is performed. Mr. Bebe, who is already made disgruntled by the imperfect arrangement (despite Otilia's best efforts), eventually demanded Otilia and Gabriela to have sex with him as a form of payment for the service. And yet, no explicit words or scenes are shown; we merely see Bebe making a subtle demand, the quiet understanding on the girls' face, and then the girls taking turns visiting bathroom. In other more conventional movies, we would have seen angry arguments, tears, and perhaps even the sex scenes themselves; in 4 Months, it is entirely possible to even miss this crucial event by not paying enough attention. Such a bold and classy approach, even if I had to watch the sequence a few times to finally realize what had happened.
There are many political references in the film, made during Otilia's struggle to secure a safe location for the abortion and in a lengthy dinner scene between her and her boyfriend's family (she slipped out in-between the abortion to fulfill this appointment, but eventually has to come back to help out Gabriela some more). Those are meant to highlight oppressive government of Romania at that time (late 1980s), and while serve as an interesting backdrop, the most striking thing I find from the movie is on the relationship aspect between Otilia and Gabriela.
As we watch Otilia being an absolute great friend despite the many frustrating things that keep happening, questions naturally arise. Does she truly care for Gabriela, or she did all that merely due to a sense of duty as a friend? Does she wonder if Gabriela will do the same thing to her if their positions were reversed? What will happen to their friendship after the whole thing ends? Those questions are not answered, at least not explicitly, but the film had already done enough to give a great insight into a sample of female friendship dynamic.
4 Months is a great and very affecting movie, in spite (because?) of its anti-melodramatic tone. It takes a familiar conflict and looks at it from a different angle; not on the dilemma of having an unborn at the wrong time, but on the easier-said-than-done action of standing by your friend. A lot of people should be able to empathize with Otilia as she stands alone in the bathroom, looking at a glass mirror with a tired and hollow expression that may say, "Are all this...really worth it?"
[Spoiler]
One such scenes happens right before the abortion is performed. Mr. Bebe, who is already made disgruntled by the imperfect arrangement (despite Otilia's best efforts), eventually demanded Otilia and Gabriela to have sex with him as a form of payment for the service. And yet, no explicit words or scenes are shown; we merely see Bebe making a subtle demand, the quiet understanding on the girls' face, and then the girls taking turns visiting bathroom. In other more conventional movies, we would have seen angry arguments, tears, and perhaps even the sex scenes themselves; in 4 Months, it is entirely possible to even miss this crucial event by not paying enough attention. Such a bold and classy approach, even if I had to watch the sequence a few times to finally realize what had happened.
There are many political references in the film, made during Otilia's struggle to secure a safe location for the abortion and in a lengthy dinner scene between her and her boyfriend's family (she slipped out in-between the abortion to fulfill this appointment, but eventually has to come back to help out Gabriela some more). Those are meant to highlight oppressive government of Romania at that time (late 1980s), and while serve as an interesting backdrop, the most striking thing I find from the movie is on the relationship aspect between Otilia and Gabriela.
As we watch Otilia being an absolute great friend despite the many frustrating things that keep happening, questions naturally arise. Does she truly care for Gabriela, or she did all that merely due to a sense of duty as a friend? Does she wonder if Gabriela will do the same thing to her if their positions were reversed? What will happen to their friendship after the whole thing ends? Those questions are not answered, at least not explicitly, but the film had already done enough to give a great insight into a sample of female friendship dynamic.
4 Months is a great and very affecting movie, in spite (because?) of its anti-melodramatic tone. It takes a familiar conflict and looks at it from a different angle; not on the dilemma of having an unborn at the wrong time, but on the easier-said-than-done action of standing by your friend. A lot of people should be able to empathize with Otilia as she stands alone in the bathroom, looking at a glass mirror with a tired and hollow expression that may say, "Are all this...really worth it?"
