Palme D’Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is such a marvel of cinematic naturalism that as the film plays, director Cristian Mungiu’s hand almost seems to be invisible. I’m certainly not the first to heap critical praise on the camerawork (mostly long takes of un-fussy tableau presented in hands-off medium shots), the acting (as unpretentious as high-quality improv, but with the studied intensity injected by the crutch of a stable script), the pitch-perfect period production design (as the Variety review put it, the film is full of “muted cement tones, capturing the crushing ugliness of life in the Eastern bloc”) and, above all, the incredible suspense created by Mungiu’s refusal to foreshadow or explain. It all adds up to a portrait of a political situation that transforms even the most mundane personal activities into a negotiation process, ranging from frustrating to humiliating, to downright horrifying.

I’m fascinated by the dynamic between the film’s two female leads, so much so that I think I need to see 4 Months a second time before writing a full review; luckily, I’ll be able to do just that next month at the New York Film Festival.

In the meantime, check out Paul’s interview with Mungiu. Paul met the director at Telluride’s opening night feed, and the two talked about 4 Months and why there is a larger renaissance happening in Romanian film right now.
Cristian Mungiu interview