4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

 Number 403 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Romanian drama '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.'

Set in Romania in the waning years of Communism, we are introduced to friends and college roommates Otilla (Anamaria Marinca) and Gabita (Laura Vasilu.) When Gabita has an unexpected pregnancy, she asks her friend to help her obtain an abortion. However, due to Romania's draconian Decree 770 that largely outlawed abortion, this is far easier said than done.

I have seen almost seven hundred films on IMDB's 2015 edition of the top 1000 films of all time. Yet this is the first film that I've seen so explicitly address the topic of abortion in such a frank and open way. I'm not even referring to the IMDB list, but films full stop. 

This is because abortion is the epitome of a hot-button issue - probably even more so now due to the US Supreme court overturning Roe Vs Wade in 2022. I suspect this was one major reason why this film was not nominated for the Best International Film Academy Award. I think this snubbing was down to the academy not being ready for this conversation.

Yet this is a conversation that director Christian Mungiu forces you to have whether you want to or not. much of the film consists of long takes where audiences have to watch and engage with the film. There's nowhere else to look.

Gabita makes a number of unwise decisions that imperils both her and Otila. The pair even have to sleep with the abortionist to ensure his cooperation. Naturally, this strains their relationship and we see its disintegration in uncomfortable detail. The long takes focus purely on Otila, as she chastises her friend.

Another long take sees Otila at the world's most awkward family dinner. She's supposed to be celebrating her boyfriend's mother's birthday, but instead they are all blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil she is facing.  With the uncomfortable long take, it's difficult not to feel what Otila must have been feeling at that time.

Arguably, the film's most shocking scene was the thirty-second long take of the aborted feotus, probably shocking due to its rarity on-screen.

4 months also brilliantly addressed the theme of womanhood and femininity. Too many conversations about abortion and women's bodies are made by men. However, there the script is correctly flipped. All of the important relationships take place between women while the male characters are relegated to supporting roles. Otila and Gabita's friendship is always at the centre of the film, as it should be. Both actresses excelled in the lead roles.

4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 days might have been an uncomfortable film to watch, but it was an necessary one too. And without doubt it was unfairly snubbed by the Academy.