Cristian Mungiu's stunning debut, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, has been one of the most talked-about films of the last twelve months both for awards it has won and for one high-profile group that snubbed it. After taking the world by storm and winning both awards at Cannes and from numerous critics groups (including the prize for Best Foreign Language Film from the Chicago Film Critics Association, of which I am a member), the nominating committee for the Academy chose to not even put the controversial film on the short list for eligibility to be nominated for the Oscar. Also snubbing Persepolis and The Orphanage, the Academy proved yet again how woefully out-of-touch they are when it comes to films not made in this country. It's a deeply flawed system that proved in 2008 that, with no offense meant to past or future winners, it's an award that really doesn't mean anything any more, if it ever did. Having said all of that, after seeing 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, it's clear why the film has found itself in a controversial predicament. It's not easy. It's brutal, hard, and sometimes nearly unbearable to watch, which are all the things that make it great and divisive at the same time. There are people out there who won't make it through the first third of 4 Months, but if you have the stomach for intense, realistic drama then it could be the perfect alternative to the mostly junk being spewed out by Hollywood at this time of year.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days takes place nearly in real-time and with very few cuts. We're merely observers along for the ride on a horrible evening in the life of two Romanian women. Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) has agreed to help her friend, Gabita (Laura Vasiliu), who needs an abortion (after the amount of time since conception indicated by the title), something not easy to get in 1980's Romania. Breakthrough filmmaker Cristian Mungiu had planned a series of film based on the "The Golden Age" of Romania in the '80s. He had planned a comedy, but realized that he needed a serious look at the dark side first. In 1988 Romania, women weren't allowed to use contraception and abortions were illegal. That led to an incredibly high black market abortion rate and a back alley business that ruined numerous lives.

The two women in 4 Months get a hotel room for the weekend and wait for the abortionist to arrive. The scene that follows is one of the hardest to watch in years as two poor young women are forced to negotiate with a man who holds the key to their futures and isn't afraid to use it for incredibly evil gains. As the night continues, Mungiu avoids melodrama or anything even remotely manipulative, making a film that's painful in its realism. He doesn't try to use his characters as symbols or in any overt effort to move his audience, he simply tells their story, which is heartbreaking and impossible to turn away from. He not only rarely cuts, he rarely even moves his camera. It's not so much "fly-on-the-wall". It's more like we're watching the recording of a camera that was just left in a corner of the room, not panning, zooming, or cutting, adding a stunning realism to the project.

Be warned. If you're looking for anything that could typically be called 'enjoyable,' avoid 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. While the filmmaking is undeniably admirable, it's a film that even I, who can usually separate myself emotionally to look at the craft, never want to see again. Watching it was like getting punched in the stomach, which is a testament to the skill of Cristian Mungiu and the incredible performance by Anamaria Marinca, but also something that's hard to recommend for a date night or a good time on the weekend. For audiences who are prepared for something almost too realistic, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days could easily be considered the best foreign language film of the year, but it's unlikely to be anyone's "favorite." It's daring, challenging, and hard to take, but it's a story that should be told and very few filmmakers could have possibly told it this well.