a review of 四月三周两天

4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days is the sad, haunting tale of a girl desperately longing for an abortion in 1980s Romania, when that was illegal under the communist regime. The cinematography very strikingly portrays the dreary atmosphere of Romania in those years. I've traveled through Romania several times as a kid, and remember the shabby hotels and disconsolate neighborhoods. The matter-of-factly narration style of the film is amplified by the lack of a soundtrack, and by the cold realism. You also feel a constant tension because you expect the punishable abortion initiative to be discovered at any given moment. A very discomforting but important tale to be told, to emphasize the injustice of prohibiting a woman's right to choose.