February 9, 2008
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
PRO-LIFE? PRO-CHOICE?
Much to Cristian Mungiu's credit, the question does not matter so much as the situation which raises it in 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, a film about unlawful abortion set in the end of socialist Romania. The only choice that is certain is the judges' at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival: the film was the recipient of the Palm D'Or, the highest accolade in cinema, beating out the more life-affirming The Diving Bell and Butterfly. If you pardon the awful pun, it can be said that this makes sense seeing that the film is a lovechild of the Dardennes Brothers and Michelangelo Antonioni, directors traditionally beloved by Cannes.
Mungiu uses extremely intimate and minimal aesthetic (Dardennes) to stylistically capture the transferred plight and individual incidents (Antonioni) of Otilia, who goes beyond the call of duty to help her university roommate, Gabita, set up an abortion. On a technical level, the film is a showcase in cinematic professionalism; Dardennes and Antonioni are not names to be thrown out lightly. Little flourishes of suspense throughout further demonstrate just how much in control Mungiu is of his world. The acting is also up to par; Anamaria Marinca presents a devastatingly complex character that on the surface truly is a regular, modern, student and woman.
The film manages to do something remarkable with its narrative: it presents abortion in a way that makes most pro-life and pro-choice advocates seem childish. There is no doubt that both sides will see strong arguments for their case. The government and persons involved are deeply flawed, however, what is important in the film is the complexity of the situation that extends beyond anything we can specifically point a finger to, or vote on. True morality and the social and cultural components that help shape it are what is questioned. These abstract ideas --ignore any governmental propaganda, Democratic or Communist, calling them anything else-- are brought together in the hopes of, perhaps one day, finding a tangible way for us to deal with the consequences of being human. In the mean time, we have to survive until we can.
Posted by Fran at February 9, 2008 2:16 PM