4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

A woman assists her friend in arranging an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania.

Director:

Cristian Mungiu

Writer:

Cristian Mungiu

Stars:

Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 42 wins & 59 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anamaria Marinca	...	Otilia Mihartescu
Laura Vasiliu	...	Gabita Dragut
Vlad Ivanov	...	Viorel Bebe
Alexandru Potocean	...	Adi Radu (as Alex Potocean)
Luminita Gheorghiu	...	Gina Radu
Adi Carauleanu	...	Dr. Radu
Liliana Mocanu	...	Unireal Hotel Receptionist
Tania Popa	...	Night Receptionist
Teodor Corban	...	Unireal Hotel Receptionist (as Teo Corban)
Cerasela Iosifescu	...	Tineretului Hotel Receptionist
Doru Ana	...	Benzanirul
Eugenia Bosânceanu	...	Viorel Bebe's Mother
Ion Sapdaru	...	Dr. Rusu (as Ioan Sapdaru)
Cristina Burbuz	...	Marie-Jeanne Rusu (as Cristina Buburuz)
Marioara Sterian	...	Adela Racoviceanu

Storyline

Romania, 1987, the brutal Ceausescu communist regime is in place; birth control is illegal and abortion is a crime punishable by death. Gabita (Laura Vasliu) is almost five months into an unwanted pregnancy and in meek desperation turns to her friend and roommate, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) for help in organizing an illegal termination. Unfortunate circumstances force the two women to use an unwanted male abortionist, Bebe (Vlad Ivanov). The bleakness of the storyline expresses a dark socio-political critique in the twilight years of a repressive dictatorship.

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Plot Keywords:

abortion | communist | romania | illegal abortion | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

How far would you go for a friend?

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the premise of the film is about a woman trying to schedule an illegal abortion, Cristian Mingiu himself is ironically pro-life.

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Goofs

When at the dinner table, Adi's mother claims to have gotten blue Easter eggs by mixing yellow dye with green dye. Blue is a primary color and cannot be obtained from mixing any other colors. (Green, however, can be obtained by mixing blue and yellow.)

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Quotes

[first lines]
[subtitled version]
Otilia: OK.
Gabriela 'Gabita' Dragut: Thanks.

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Connections

References The Virgin Suicides (1999)

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Soundtracks

Te aud mereu
Music by Aurel Giorveanu
Lyrics by Mihai Dumbrava
Performed by Angela Similea and Cornel Constantiniu

User Reviews

A path to maturity

Usually, movies are about entertainment, or about art, or simply they just have something to say. This is exactly the case with "4,3,2". Going beyond exceptional cinematography, this is a movie about serious problems, in a serious approach. It's about those extraordinary events in our every day life. The cast and all the effort put into making it add up to the success of presenting a story about real life with fictional means. It's not a movie about women, nor about men, it doesn't concern only women, or only men, it's about struggle and sacrifice, without being pathetic or exaggerated. You, or me, or the one next to you, could face the same problems and we each deal with them in our own way. The winning point of the film is that it's not judgemental about these choices, but only alarming, or purely descriptive.

Great acting, great directing, great filming, great writing and a great story make this film well worthy of those Palmes D'Or. It's a great achievement for cinematography in general, not only the Romanian one in particular. But for a more detailed perspective, just go see the movie!

Details

Country:

Romania Belgium

Language:

Romanian

Release Date:

14 September 2007 (Romania)

Also Known As:

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Budget:

EUR590,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$51,712, 27 January 2008

Gross USA:

$1,198,208

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,174,839

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mobra Films, Centrul National al Cinematografiei (CNC), Mindshare Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1