4 months 3 weeks 2 days Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Reason #4,526,397 why France is different than the USA: I don't remember watching any abortion dramas as part of the curriculum when I went to school. The Guardian is reporting that 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days -- about a woman seeking an abortion in dictatorial Romania, circa 1987 -- will be screened in French schools. But don't worry: even the French had reservations about whether it was appropriate to do so.

To put things in their proper perspective, 4 Months is no sensationalist film exploiting its subject matter. It garnered sensational reviews at Cannes, where it won the Palme d'Or, but critics like our own James Rocchi pointed out that, though it's definitely "not 'fun' ... it's incredibly affecting, magnificently acted and superbly made." James said the film moved and challenged him, made him feel and think as it "demonstrated the personal and political challenges of a heartbreaking choice that, in many ways, is no choice at all."

4 Months also won the National Education Prize, which entitled it to receive government funding to produce a special educational DVD that would then be shown to French students aged 15-18. The education minister thought the film was so "incredibly hard to watch," he announced last Friday that the project would not be funded. Reportedly he wanted "to protect a vulnerable audience" and said his decision had nothing to do with the subject matter. No matter: Laure Tarnaud, a member of the "French society of French directors," noted that Gus Van Sant's Elephant was screened in schools and claimed that "the censorship ... appears to be motivated by the desire not to talk about abortion." The education minister "vehemently denied" the charge, but nonetheless reversed his decision the following day. Now I'm curious: are films with such serious subject matter being shown at your local high school?

"Get on your knees, sinner! Repent for not having watched The Death of Mr. Lazerescu, one of the best-reviewed movies of 2005!" Just so you feel better, I'm not talking to you, faithful reader, I'm chastising myself for missing out -- so far -- on viewing the highly-praised Romanian drama. Here's my confession: ignoring all the critical hosannas, I allowed myself to be influenced by an anonymous film festival attendee who told her friend: "Isn't that the one where they drive around in an ambulance for three hours? Booo-ring!" Determined to atone for my sins, I'm putting Mr. Lazerescu near the top of my "to watch" pile, keeping an eye out for another Romanian film, 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (the Cannes prizewinner that James recommended so highly), which will probably be out this fall, and looking forward to the just-announced release of still another highly-praised Romanian film, The Way I Spent the End of the World. Is there something in the Black Sea that's helping these filmmakers produce such great cinema?

When it played at Toronto last year, Martha Fischer wrote: "On rare occasions ... you see a film so confident and effective that it's almost frightening to consider what the director will produce once he or she gets some experience; The Way I Spent the End of the World from first-time writer-director Catalin Mitulescu is one of those revelations." The Hollywood Reporter summarizes the plot: "Petre plays Eva, a teenager who accidentally breaks a statue of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu with her 7-year-old brother during the last year of the leader's rule. After being prosecuted for the incident, she escapes the country, and her brother hatches a plan to assassinate the leader with his school friends." Film Movement will distribute the film to their club members in July, followed by a limited theatrical release in the early part of 2008 before its eventual appearance on DVD.