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Wells also called it "the most persuasive anti-abortion argument in any form I've ever heard, seen or read," but I don't know that I would go quite that far. The film is not a pro-life propaganda film any more than it is a pro-choice one. What it is, is an honest, bracing, unflinching, compassionate work of art—superbly acted, staged, and directed—and quite possibly an even more balanced treatment of its subject matter than Mike Leigh's Vera Drake,which concerned an illegal abortion provider in 1950s England.

But for some, the film may have been too honest and bracing. After a year in which films like Juno and Knocked Up were criticized for dismissing abortion as a legitimate option, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days finally gives those critics what they wanted: a woman who not only considers aborting her child, but goes ahead and does so. But the fact that the film doesn't stop there may have hurt its chances with the Academy; Wells, among others, has speculated that the film was snubbed partly because the shot of the dead fetus was too much for some people.

Oh, well. Mungiu's film is still a compelling portrait of strained relationships, personal trauma and social decay, and it deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible, with or without the Academy's imprimatur.

Talk About It

1. Is this movie about abortion, or is abortion a metaphor for something else? Both? What would the "something else" be?
2. Does anything in this film change your opinion on abortion and whether it should be legal? Do you think the film takes a stand on the issue?
3. Why do you think Gabita asks Otilia to bury the fetus, instead of throwing it away? Why would a woman who had chosen to abort her own child go on to treat it as though it deserved to be treated with human dignity? Why does Otilia do what she does with the fetus?
4. Have you ever helped a friend to do something illegal or unethical? What? Why? How would you have responded if someone had made demands like the ones Bebe makes?

The Family Corner

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is not rated by the MPAA, but it includes brief nudity, sexually coercive dialogue, and a graphic depiction of a dead fetus. (If it had been submitted for an MPAA rating, it would probably have been rated R.)

Photos © Copyright IFC Films

© Peter T. Chattaway subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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