4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days is a stunning and demanding watch. Every frame of Cristian Mungiu’s Romanian drama set in the 1980s about two female students trying to arrange an illegal abortion is brilliantly thought out. The stakes are high: there are lengthy prison sentences for women who abort. The realism would be unbearable if it wasn’t such a gripping and beautifully painted story. This is a chapter of history most Romanians are desperate to forget.

The bond between the girls is tested to breaking point in the cheap hotel room they are forced to rent. Laura Vasiliu’s white lies about the exact number of months, weeks and days she has been pregnant puts her friend in an impossible position. Vlad Ivanov’s vicious back-street quack demands favours above and beyond the money. The howls of stray dogs put a feral edge on the night. The strain on Anamaria Marinca’s pinched white face speaks volumes. The premise might sound as bleak as a Soviet cement wall, but the film is brilliantly composed and riveting – please see it.

Cert 15, 113mins

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