IMDb RATING
7.9/10
63K
YOUR RATING
A woman assists her friend in arranging an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania.A woman assists her friend in arranging an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania.A woman assists her friend in arranging an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania.
- Awards
- 41 wins & 59 nominations
Alexandru Potocean
- Adi Radu
- (as Alex Potocean)
Teodor Corban
- Unireal Hotel Receptionist
- (as Teo Corban)
Ion Sapdaru
- Dr. Rusu
- (as Ioan Sapdaru)
Cristina Burbuz
- Marie-Jeanne Rusu
- (as Cristina Buburuz)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaForeign viewers not familiar with the situation in Romania in the late 1980s may be unaware that not only abortion was illegal there, but contraception as well. In an effort to increase the dwindling population, the dictatorial Communist regime had issued Decree 770 in 1967 which put a ban on not only abortion but also contraceptive medicine. The women in the beginning of the film are obtaining their contraceptive pills illegally through the black market, as well as luxury products like soap and cigarettes.
- GoofsWhen 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.)
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best of 2007 (2007)
- SoundtracksFata din vis
Music and lyrics by Paul Ciuci
Performed by Compact
Featured review
at its best its a stark, haunting look at a complex issue without much sentimentality
The most recent Palm D'Or winner was, at first, a little perplexing to me, and had a feeling of it slightly throughout its near two-hour running time. It starts off looking like a movie about nothing (and not the interesting awesome kind of nothing that is about something), with a woman going about some busy business is a dorm, and meeting and talking with her boyfriend. Then it segues into a story of her attempts to help out her friend procure an illegal abortion in a hotel room under some harsh circumstances (i.e. the girl is timid and uneasy in her ignorance, the man performing it is cold and cruel and a professional pig, the general fear and loathing of the situation). But Mingiu's style is something that took me totally off my guard, and I wasn't sure for the better.
The film contends with the likes of Woyzek of having a ridiculous among of long-takes (and long as in ten-minute length, the variety that would've been impossible decades ago), with these characters in a bind of usually holding back emotions under these complex set of circumstances, where the fear of getting caught goes hand in hand with the problems of guilt in a society that shouldn't have that instilled in people in the first place. I even though once or twice "what's all the hoopla about with this movie?" But since I saw it yesterday, the film hasn't left my mind, and considering the little problems I still have with it (mostly involving one or two scenes that, for all intents and purposes, *do* overrun their length of a take), it's much more of a remarkable film that I thought right after seeing it. It's a lot like if Bresson shot a home movie set in Romania in Communist era times of dread, where a character like the lead Otilia (Anamaria Minca) is so restrained we wonder if she'll suddenly burst at the seams at any moment. Once or twice she and the perpetually quiet and insipid character Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) break down in their emotion, but it's all mostly unsentimental in portrayal.
So, perhaps, think L'Infant, also a recent Golden Palm winner, only with a stronger and much more unforgiving message at the core of an abortion: it's never easy for anybody, on any side, least of all for the fetus dumped away in some dark room or other, away from the dogs that could tear it to pieces, and as something that will be at worst a skeleton in the closet. But the style of the picture is most striking because of how it tries to be somehow immediate and detached; we're caught without a cut at times, like someone is (carefully, not Cloverfield) holding the camera, getting down every little gesture, every little eye movement, and not with a cutaway or close-up. Lighting is also minimal or for the basics, like when we're at the dinner table with her boyfriend's family, or especially at dark when she's walking around in a daze. It's a challenging perspective that, dare I say it amongst all who love the film so, veers on pretension.
But as I said, the power to stay with me hasn't diminished, and like any powerful piece of European cinema that tries to provoke through suggestion, through subtext, and through a precise, cruel naturalistic setting, it doesn't go away very easily. 8.5/10
The film contends with the likes of Woyzek of having a ridiculous among of long-takes (and long as in ten-minute length, the variety that would've been impossible decades ago), with these characters in a bind of usually holding back emotions under these complex set of circumstances, where the fear of getting caught goes hand in hand with the problems of guilt in a society that shouldn't have that instilled in people in the first place. I even though once or twice "what's all the hoopla about with this movie?" But since I saw it yesterday, the film hasn't left my mind, and considering the little problems I still have with it (mostly involving one or two scenes that, for all intents and purposes, *do* overrun their length of a take), it's much more of a remarkable film that I thought right after seeing it. It's a lot like if Bresson shot a home movie set in Romania in Communist era times of dread, where a character like the lead Otilia (Anamaria Minca) is so restrained we wonder if she'll suddenly burst at the seams at any moment. Once or twice she and the perpetually quiet and insipid character Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) break down in their emotion, but it's all mostly unsentimental in portrayal.
So, perhaps, think L'Infant, also a recent Golden Palm winner, only with a stronger and much more unforgiving message at the core of an abortion: it's never easy for anybody, on any side, least of all for the fetus dumped away in some dark room or other, away from the dogs that could tear it to pieces, and as something that will be at worst a skeleton in the closet. But the style of the picture is most striking because of how it tries to be somehow immediate and detached; we're caught without a cut at times, like someone is (carefully, not Cloverfield) holding the camera, getting down every little gesture, every little eye movement, and not with a cutaway or close-up. Lighting is also minimal or for the basics, like when we're at the dinner table with her boyfriend's family, or especially at dark when she's walking around in a daze. It's a challenging perspective that, dare I say it amongst all who love the film so, veers on pretension.
But as I said, the power to stay with me hasn't diminished, and like any powerful piece of European cinema that tries to provoke through suggestion, through subtext, and through a precise, cruel naturalistic setting, it doesn't go away very easily. 8.5/10
helpful•71
- Quinoa1984
- Feb 11, 2008
Details
Box office
- Budget
- €590,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,198,208
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $51,712
- Jan 27, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $10,174,839
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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