Romania's brutal antiabortion law
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is a realistic film. The story of the film took place in Romania after 1987.Twenty one years ago, the former Secretary General of Romania promulgated the anti-abortion law. He claimed that the fetus was the wealth and labor of the country and abortion was illegal. (Palmer-Mehta & Haliluc, 2010) In order to ensure the effective implementation of the law, the government even arranges law enforcement officers to check women's menstruation every month. Under such a high-handed policy, many women choose to seek refuge in neighboring countries, but in exchange for the merciless shooting of Romanian soldiers.
As we all know, just like French "New Wave" movies, all "New Wave"movies are based on realism, and of course, this Romanian "New Wave"movie is no exception. Therefore, this type of film usually uses long lenses,natural light and handheld cameras. The goal is to make the film more realistic. Another thing that must be said is that the story background of New Wave movies has a certain special historical significance (Li, 2019). As shown in the beginning of the movie, the shabby multi-person female dormitory is full of smuggled items from Western society. This lens has hidden meaning. It shows that Romania was gradually capitalist at that time, and it heralded that the socialist regime was about to end, showing the turbulent society at the time of regime change from the side. This movie was filmed in the dark historical period before the downfall of the former general secretary and his execution.In this period of social turmoil, government oppression has always reflected the hardships of the people, especially women. It is worth mentioning that the Romanian New Wave was developed by the film festival. Such directors usually have experienced that turbulent period of history, so they hope to let more people understand this history through the way of film. The story line of the whole movie is very simple. Female college student Otilia's roommate Gabita had an accidental pregnancy. Otilia did her best to help her borrow money, find a doctor, and contact a hotel for an abortion. However, the black-hearted doctor asked the two to have sex with him on the grounds that the money was not enough, and the two finally had to compromise. Then throw away the fetus as required by the doctor.
There are several thought-provoking classic long lenses in the film. The first is the footage of Otilia negotiating with the front desk of the hotel. Otilia has been begging for both sessions, and both front desks are very arrogant. It implies that they represent the defenders of the social order, and the contradiction with the women class represented by Otilia is already deep. Otilia was asked to leave the key when entering and leaving the hotel and had to go through a bribe to get things done. This small hotel lobby became the abbreviation for the cold and venal of this era, which made people feel a lot of emotion. The second is the back shot of Otilia after having sex with the doctor, washing her body madly, and then silent. Although only the back was photographed, we can still feel her despair at that time. And this doctor is also a person at the bottom of the society. From what he said, we can guess that he had suffered injustice. So only by bullying more vulnerable groups can he get the pleasure of success. It is this cold society that distorts their character. Then came the abortion stage. What is unexpected is that Gabita even lit a cigarette after the abortion. Of course, she did not smoke once or twice.The only explanation is that her heart is numb, whether it is to others or to herself. Afterwards, Otilia had to rush to celebrate her boyfriend's mother's birthday, which reflects the class problem. As the party with poorer family conditions, you must unconditionally obey the better-qualified family, even in that case. As soon as Otilia entered the house, she called her roommate who had just had a miscarriage. Although Otilia was also invited to dinner, their conversation was full of intellectuals' contempt for workers and men's sense of superiority over women, which was a mockery of Otilia. This birthday dinner is the abbreviation of this era, full of class hostility (Qu, 2013). On the one hand, Otilia worried about her roommate and faced ridicule on the other. The audience couldn’t help but make the audience wonder what happened to this society. The last scene is when Otilia goes back to the hotel after she lost the baby, Gbita orders a lot of food as if nothing had happened, and then calmly says that she is hungry. This scene is so shocking, after such a big thing, it can be so calm. It seems that the devastation of society has made her extremely numb. In the face of such a cruel law, if there is no way to resist,we can only comply, and the price of compliance is gradually losing the original intention.
The long shot of the film illustrates the tragic experiences of the two girls and through their experiences reflects the serious social and political problems in Romania at the time. The use of natural light throughout the film and the absence of sound added later makes the film look realistic, which is what a new wave film needs. The directors seized on that turbulent period to create a unique era of the Romanian New Wave.
Reference
Palmer-Mehta, V., & Haliluc, A.(2010). 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days.Women & Language,33(2),117–118.
Li, Y. H. (2019). An Analysis of Narrative Ethics in the Movie 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.The home of the drama, 104(21).
Qu，H. (2013). April, Three Weeks and Two Days. Dark Uterus or National Memory.March wind 54(6).