#6: 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile (2007)

Moving on from a subtle, deft picture about life, to another subtle, but intensely painful and realistic look at abortions in 1980s Romania. The movie chronicles the woman whose abortion this is, and her friend who helps her through the horrific ordeal. Director Cristian Mungiu is a very patient director, and lets whole scenes play out for as long as they need to go.

The camera acts as a third person involved in this abortion, placing the viewer directly in the situation. Editing is spare, and this leaves the actors as the real stars, shaping their own performances and controlling the pace of the movie. In fact, there is one, painful, unbroken 8 1/2 minute shot at a dinner table, as the one girl must leave her female companion to attend a dinner, and Mungiu immerses us in her world, impatiently waiting for this rambunctious party to be over.

But more then the camera composition is how cold this movie feels. Really, once you get through this ordeal, how can you have emotion left? Yes, a fetus is shown in an extended shot, but even if that wasn't there I would still love that picture. That moment alone does not make or break the movie, but it does enhance the gravity of the situation.

To be sure this is an emotionally draining experience, and you won't leave with a grin or a smile. What you will leave with, though, is a sense of what enforcing basic human choices can do to people. I'm not going to make an argument about whether she was in the right to get that abortion, but I will argue that situations like this are the result of governments oppressing their people. More then the message, though, it's a damn fine exercise in nail-biting suspense.