4 maanden, 3 weken en 2 dagen

Huey McEvoy

What's most surprising is Mungiu's use of thriller tropes to lift what is ostensibly a serious, harrowing drama into a masterfully nailbiting ride - the slow reveal of the villain of the piece is breathtaking, and there's even a wry twist on Chekhov's Gun. The cast is astonishing too - one can only wonder at what Mungiu's direction was during that long, excruciating dinner party scene.

Clarisse Lemaitre

Un choc, un choc de voir ce film pour la première fois, qui nous englobe tel un monstre marin sans nous laisser prendre notre souffle. Aucune issue, aucune faille, le cinéma m'a tuer.

janice.hughes

A low key film set in the last days of the Ceausescu regime in Romania about a young student going through a harrowing abortion and the support and suffering by her best friend. Not a film easily forgotten.

smndvdcl

One of the most harrowing and unpleasant films in memory, but utterly profound and purposeful in its motivation. As a campaign piece against the austerity of pro-life legislation, it is as polemical as it gets. This reads like a worst case scenario of the need to 'go underground' with a backyard abortion when pro-choice is outlawed. Sour as hell, important as it gets. Euro-cinema with a righteous sting.

Alex Denison

Although the subject matter is anything but light-hearted, the formal elements of the film are what prove to be the most challenging. We (and the characters) are trapped inside claustrophobic frames for seemingly endless amounts of time, bombarded with disturbances from the hors-champ, and forced to endure the paroxysms and uncertainty of a mobile hand-held camera. A difficult film but one which deserves much praise.

LoverofLeCinema

It's a frustrating film, offering you no reward for enduring it. But it gets this simple, universally known message across brutally and skillfully, making sure we don't forget it. That message is that the world and people inside it are ugly. What I find most chilling about Mungiu's film is that it challenges the viewer to find any hope when it concludes. What a sick, ugly, brave piece of art it is...

Clayton

A tough film to watch, not in terms of graphic content, but rather due to the expertly crafted tension and deeply harrowing subject matter. Woke me up out of my privileged slumber. Highly recommended.

MikeEverleth

One of the tensest films I've ever seen. Also really loved the locked-down, static way the scenes were shot. Loved it.