By: debbie lynn elias
As I have noted of late, Eastern Europe is turning out some phenomenal films from phenomenal filmmakers, like Russian director Timur Bekmambetov the man responsible for European box office bonanzas “Nightwatch” and now “Daywatch”, and Hungarian music video/commercial director Attila Szasz who steps into the short film genre with the riveting psychological thriller, “Now You See Me Now You Don’t.”
Adding to that growing list of international talent is the work of this year’s winner of the Plume d’Or at Cannes, Cristian Mungiu and his film 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS.
Romania. 1987. Still within the Communist bloc, Romania is under the rule of Nicolae Ceaucescu. A tyrant by any standard, Ceaucescu has made abortion a crime. Gabita, a young college student, is overwhelmed when she learns she is pregnant. Knowing that she is not in a position to have a child and also knowing the illegality and legal ramifications for those who have abortions, Gabita turns to her best friend Otilia for a shoulder to cry on, an arm to lean on, and to beg for help in making what may well be the most difficult decision of her life.
After 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days – the length of time it has taken Gabita to decide what to do about her unplanned pregnancy – a decision has been made. Gabita will risk everything to save her future. She will have an abortion. Naive as to the ways of the world and physically and emotionally fragile, Gabita asks Otilia to handle the arrangements. A hotel room is required. Money to pay for the procedure is needed as is money to grease a few palms and keep mouths silent. A meeting with the mysterious Mr. Bebe must be also scheduled.
While Gabita nervously sits and waits, ready to jump out of her skin at any moment, Otilia takes the laboring oar and quietly calls on friends and classmates, borrowing money and items to trade on the street for cash, as well as gathering supplies that Gabita will need during the “operation.” With money in hand, Otilia heads to the hotel room to meet Gabita only to find there is no reservation and no room at the inn. Forced to look elsewhere, a suitable room is finally located.
Again leaving Gabita alone, Otilia ventures out for the clandestine meeting with Mr. Bebe. Unfortunately, Mr. Bebe is not what one would call a kind man. He is rigid, cold and callous. He is after all a criminal performing illegal abortions. And like all criminals, they are not to be trusted. Making new demands on Otilia as she has not complied with his explicit instructions to a tee, it takes some negotiation on Otilia’s part to get Bebe to stick to their agreement. But another problem results when Bebe meets Gabita. She is further along in her pregnancy than he was told. Mandating new negotiations, the girls fear he wants more money, money that they don’t have. But that’s not what Bebe wants. He wants them. Both of them. Demanding sexual favors before he will proceed with the abortion, he forces the girls to submit to him.
Raped, debased and denigrated, the girls are in a fog over Bebe’s ugly, menacing, and vile acts. But without skipping a beat, Bebe satisfies himself, and forces Gabita into position for the abortion. As quickly as it began it is over. After Bebe pokes and prods and injects some fluid into Gabita, he unceremoniously and unsolicitously tells the girls what to do when the fetus aborts and quickly leaves the room. Alone in their unspeakable horror and grief, it feels like day has become night – or a nightmare, one that will never end.
But neither the day nor its dread have ended as when Otilia leaves Gabita alone to attend her mother’s birthday party, we see it is still daylight. And while Gabita suddenly finds some hidden bravura, Otilia loses hers as she is overcome with emotion of the days’ trauma, fighting back the tears and choking back screams of anguish and anger. Fleeing the party she heads back to Gabita, the only person with whom she can share this unspeakable day.
BAFTA award winner Anamaria Marinca is stellar as Otilia. Commanding every scene, she brings a multi-textural depth to the character and speaks volumes with her silence. And given her performance here, you have to opine that the close-up shot was designed with Marinca in mind. She has an effortless ease in her dialogue and mannerisms befitting an informed college student devoted to her best friend. In only her second screen role, Laura Vasiliu shines as the naive frightened Gabita. Exuding a gentility and innocence much like Olivia de Havilland’s Melanie Wilkes in “Gone With The Wind” Vasiliu’s emotion is genuine, heartfelt and extremely moving. A perfect compliment to the women is veteran Romanian actor Vlad Ivanov as Mr. Bebe – Mungui’s only choice for the role. Hardened and callous, he is masterful in his movements vacillating from rapist to a “doctor” with a previously unseen kindness in his bedside manner. He throws you completely off balance which only serves to add to the tension and discomfort of the character and the situation.
Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, the final product is masterful. Using a controlled and rigid environment, he allows the story and characters unfold within his designated confines, forcing evocative performance and emotion from his players. Metaphoric use of an aquarium with fish swimming in view and then out is interpreted as the sight unseen taboos of the day – or any day and place for that matter, a metaphor that was mimicked throughout the film thanks to Mungui’s unconventional style of naturalness.
Use of a handheld camera and natural light lends itself to the soberness and drabness of the time, the country and the story itself, but it also enables Mungui to pan at his leisure creating a sense of time and distorted reality that exponentially turns up the discomfort level to the point of having the audience squirm in their seats at what is happening, particularly during the abortion sequence. A handheld also allowed Mungui to shoot one shot per scene; i.e., follow the person down the street, in the building, up the stairs and into a room non-stop, thus affording a smooth natural flow. Simply masterful.
High production values thanks not only to Mungui but also cinematographer Oleg Mutu, superlative acting and compelling story make it easy to see why 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS was handed the Palm D’Or by Jane Fonda last week.
Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu.
