Star rating - 8/10
Just like
his previous film about the horrors of life for ordinary people in Romania,
Cristian Mungiu has delivered a very tough watch in Beyond the Hills. His previous offering 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days concerned the shocking plight of a
young woman having to undergo an illegal abortion. This time it is the
treatment of a troubled young woman at the hands of the priest in a remote and
austere rural monastery.
Voichita (Cosmina Stratan) has
left the orphanage where she grew up and joined the monastery, leaving behind
her friend Alina (Cristina
Flutur). The film opens with a vulnerable and distraught Alina returning from working in Germany, and coming to find
her, intending for them to leave together. It soon transpires that their
previous close bond included a sexual relationship which Alina is very reluctant
to let go of. As she realises that Voichita's deepening faith is a potential
barrier to her desperate plans, she becomes increasingly disturbed, to the
horror of the quiet and strict religious community.
It is
clear that Alina needs professional help, both physically and mentally, and a violent breakdown winds her up in a severely under resourced hospital. The doctor feels
she would be much better off back at the monastery, so extremely reluctantly
she is placed back in the care of the nuns and their authoritarian priest. As
her condition worsens, her frightening episodes of mental breakdown lead the
priest to conclude that she is possessed by Satan, and that an exorcism is the
only thing that can save her, with tragic consequences for them all.
This
emotionally draining yet spare plot is brilliantly enacted by the whole cast in
such an impressive manner that it's easy
to forget you are watching actors and not real people in a chilling and
terrifying ordeal. The story is apparently based on a real life experience, which
makes it all the more chilling. The scenes in the desolate monastery are so
surreal that whenever a brief slice of everyday normality is interjected via a
hospital trip, or a visit to Alina's previous foster home, it has a surreal
jolting effect to remind the viewer how bizarre the community life really is.
To be
picky, the film is probably about half an hour too long ( but then I often
think that these days), but Mungiu is an absolute master at creating bleak and
searching portraits of the deeply unattractive, and in this case frankly
horrifying, side of Romanian society. It stayed with me long after the credits
rolled.
No comments:
Post a Comment