Review: An unforgettable ‘4 Weeks’

Winner of the Palme d’Or award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days” is really about just one day. It’s 1987 in Bucharest, Romania. And it’s the day that Otilia’s (Anamaria Marinca) college roommate Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) is going to terminate her pregnancy. Under Nicolae Ceaucescu’s strict Cold War-era dictatorship, single motherhood means a doomed future while abortion gets both the medical provider and the expectant girl severe punishment.

What’s a desperate, terrified young woman to do? More importantly in this film, which is seen from Otilia’s point of view, what lengths will a loyal friend go to in order to help her?