4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days, 3 stars
Rounding out the triplet of movies watched over the christmas break is 4 Weeks, 3 Months and 2 Days, the Romanian movie that took the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 2007.
Sadly, the sad tale of an abortion in the late eighties Bucharest remains as gray as the dilapidated city.
The story is simple, and marred by the implausible density of the lead character. A lot of the complications in the tale hinges on her inability to deal with reality and that saps the story’s believability. The attention to detail is meticulous, the environment feels constricting as everything is either mired in bureaucracy or available only through the black market.
Indeed, one of the main aspects of the story is the run-down city. The ugliness of the environment never lets down, be it from dysfunctional municipal traffic, uniformly box-shaped cars or unlit hallways where there paint peels away. The cinematography is merciless, and revels in exploiting the scenery. Especially the long nightly journey through the suburb falling asleep towards the very end is convincingly shot.
Definitely not a happy movie, but worthwhile watching nonetheless. And probably a good candidate for the oscar for best foreign film.
Matti:
My take: http://www.systemsarchitecture.org/mane/Blogs/blogJan2008.html#100108.1
January 11, 2008, 19:11