4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (ROMANIAN) DVD

(4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile)
DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Unwanted Pregnancy the Subject of Sobering Romanian Drama Released on DVD

Judging by a recently-released movies, American and Eastern European teenagers must have very different mindsets when it comes to an unwanted pregnancy. Afterall, it was no big deal for Juno, the terminally-sarcastic title character of the hilarious teensploit. With the help of her equally-blasé best friend, that proto-typical American rebel simply decided to find a perfect suburban couple to adopt the baby, then behaving like she’s above it all for the rest of the film till her unplanned bundle of joy arrived.
By contrast, we find relatively-morose Gabita (Laura Vasiliu), the heroine of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, stuck behind the Iron Curtain in Rumania where abortion has been outlawed. Looking like Borat’s lost wayward sister, this glum college student lives in a grey dorm on a grim campus where practically everybody seems to be dealing in contraband (cigarettes, candy, even showers) or is up to some sort of shady shenanigans.
For, you see, this is the late Eighties, during the last days of Communism, so it comes as no surprise when Gabita turns to the black market rather than have the child. Accompanied by her very supportive roommate (Anamaria Marinca), who handles most of the details, she unwittingly seeks out the services of Bebe (Vlad Ivanov), the callous butcher of Bucharest, an unlicensed monster who could care less about the welfare of his vulnerable clients.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a relentlessly-depressing, slice-of-life drama which unfolds over the course of 24 hours. Since the picture, perhaps a little too convincingly conveys the harrowing ordeal of a desperate female in Gabita’s predicament, before watching this movie you still might want to make sure you’re in the mood for a feel-bad flick.
The Un-Juno.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for nudity, sexual situations and profanity.
Running time: 113 minutes
In Romanian with subtitles.
Studio: Genius Products
DVD Extras: Interviews with director Cristian Mungiu and actress Anamaria Marinca, and filmographies.


To see a trailer of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbAYPt1mpgI