4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Sophomore director Cristian Mungiu’s riveting realist drama won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2007 and cemented the Romanian new wave’s reputation as Europe’s hottest new cinema. The film is set in 1987, in the dying days of Communism. Flighty student Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) has become pregnant, and her loyal friend and roommate Otilia (the film’s protagonist, superbly played by Anamaria Marinca) selflessly steps forward to help her obtain an abortion — a perilous, illegal undertaking that involves a rendezvous with a creepy Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov, who also appears in Corneliu Porumboiu’s Police, Adjective) in a cheap Bucharest hotel room. “Pitch perfect and brilliantly acted, 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days is a stunning achievement, directed 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 — Mungiu’s masterly film . . . [is] certain to be spoken of with the same regard as The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, with which it shares director of photography Oleg Mutu” (Jay Weissberg, Variety). Colour, 35mm, in Romanian with English subtitles. 113 mins.