Popular reviews

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  Review by Sally Jane Black 5

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  By chance, I am watching this on Mother's Day. I make no apologies.

  This film contains three stunning moments of sacrifice (well, more, really, but three that stood out). The first is when Otilia sleeps with the abortionist for Gabita (who then also sleeps with him). It's a disgusting moment, as the man forces a woman in a moment of pure vulnerability to pleasure him, despite being entirely off-camera. It's the most gut-churning moment of the entire film. It's also the moment that makes it clear how the anti-abortion laws fully put women at the power of men, making it as sleazy and direct as possible.

  The second moment is when Otilia goes to her boyfriend's house, despite her awful…

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  Review by CinemaCl🎃wn ★★★★½ 2

  After the fall of Communism in 1989 Romania and a decade of struggle that followed due to the post-revolution aftereffects, a new breed of filmmakers started what soon turned out to be the resurgence of Romanian films that has since impressed the critics & viewers around the world over the course of the new millennium. And leading this cinematic wave and the most notable testament to Romania’s renaissance & steady prominence in today’s film world is none other than director Cristian Mungiu’s sociopolitical drama 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days which not only qualifies as arguably the finest film that Romanian film industry has offered us so far but is also one of its decade’s most accomplished, powerful & haunting works of cinematic…

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  Review by BrandonHabes ★★★★★ 26

  Abortion is horrible, but so is policing women's bodies. Mungiu effectively gives a middle finger to both sides of the debate, creating a cruel atmosphere where pro-life exists under the insidious creep of an Orwellian state, and pro-choice is visualized in the most graphic, heartless and unrepentant of details. Fuck both sides. Humans don't know how to be free without fucking themselves and others up, nor do they know how to benevolently rule over others without abusing their positions of power. Totalitarianism is evil, but human choice can be just as bad.

  This film jaaaaaaaacked me up. 

  Bleeds wretchedness on all fronts. A timely reminder of what freedom looks like in the face of state oppression, and the depressing consequences…

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  Review by Emily Housel ★★★★½ 3

  Holy crap. This really got to me. Keep abortion safe and legal

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  Review by Jerry McGlothlin ★★★★ 17

  Absolutely searing. A germane piece of cinema to society and the issue of human rights that, unfortunately, transcends its time and setting entirely; it’s relevance just as strong today as ever.

  4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days speaks louder than anything I could possibly put down here, and it does so with such a strong sense of realism and humility for its characters.

  The performances are heart-rending, the script is flawless, the camerawork is handheld and so indicative of the feelings these women must be experiencing over the course of the film.

  Anyone who makes the personal decision to seek an abortion should have the unequivocal right to do so without outside influence, shame or fear of punishment—in a safe environment, carried out by a medical professional.

  That’s all.

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  Review by 🌻 lindsay 🌻 ★★★★½

  Bro the last 30 minutes of this movie had my heart RACING. This was so so intense in the best way. I felt so much empathy for these characters and the way we followed their story made me feel so connected to them. I feel like my heart is so heavy right now but this film was so beautiful. This is so important and I think everyone should see it. Let women be in control of their own bodies!!!

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  Review by forelavy 3

  bye i’m gonna go take a very long shower and stare blankly down the drain

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  Review by anjy 🌻 ★★★★★ 1

  a very important yet difficult watch. the power this film holds leaves me speechless.

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  Review by Robert ★★★★½ 3

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  Romania in the late 80s presents itself with very interesting topics. Having been beleaguered by communism for twenty-something years, those last few knockings of Ceaușescu's mandate were very stern to the population. Indeed, everyone who's lived back then will tell you about the wages and how everyone was obliged to contribute with their work-force, thus resulting in a low percentage of the population being out of work, but I digress. There are lots to talk about here, as what Mungiu's craft does, is put on film how dire the situation was. Do bear in mind that this is a singular case. 20th century Romania is a treasure trove for propping up a movie plot. From our arguably greatest poet being…

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  Review by Jaime Rebanal ★★★★★

  In that amount of time, a woman has left without a choice to have been made for herself after an unplanned pregnancy has taken over her own identity. When talking about a film like 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, one already knows that in this amount of time, a critical life choice must be made on behalf of this woman’s identity, but knowing the circumstances of the period in which this film had been set (Communist Romania), it was never going to be easy. Perhaps that is the best way to describe what watching 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days feels like because there was no guarantee that a topic of this sort was going to be…

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  Review by Edgar Cochran ★★★★★

  Mungiu's extraordinary scope transports us to the unbearable environment of tragic decisions and their ultimate consequences. The Communist conflict is overwhelming, and yet it is implicit. The true horror of this masterpiece relies on the powerlessness and physical incapability of assuming current responsibilities and facing the brutal reality. Moreover, what happens when such overwhelming reality is affected by a ludicrous and inhuman governmental control? Béla Tarr's influence starts to arise more significantly, and the superb craftsmanship of this gem makes it, quite probably, the best film of 2007. This is one of those flicks that are either loved or hated (all I see are several ratings of 4.5 / 5 stars, and way too many scores below 3.5 stars).

  97/100

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  Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★½

  4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, despite its title, transpires over a few gruelling hours within a single day in an unnamed Romanian town in 1987. It tells of Gabriela 'Găbița' Dragut (Laura Vasiliu) and her friend Otilia Mihartescu (Anamaria Marinca), two roommates in a university dormitory. 

  Gabriela is pregnant and, with the aid of Otilia, has organised in obtaining an illegal abortion. Abortions were declared illegal in Romania in 1966, resulting in a population boom until the end of Communism in 1989. While the film doesn't talk directly about politics, it delves deeply into the details of the characters' lives and shows how constricting laws can dehumanise those living under them. 

  The illegal abortion will occur at a…