Plot
The friendship between two young women who grew up in the same orphanage; one has found refuge at a convent in Romania and refuses to leave with her friend, who now lives in Germany.
Release Year: 2012
Rating: 7.7/10 (2,760 voted)
Director:Cristian Mungiu
Storyline
Alina and Voichita have been friends since their orphanage days. And they have been lovers since they became sexually mature. But despite their oath of mutual fidelity, Alina, who could not bear poverty any more, emigrated to Germany where she became a barmaid. Now she just could not take the estrangement from Alina and today she is back to Moldavia with a view to taking Voichita along with her to Germany. The only trouble is that in the meantime her girlfriend has betrayed her in falling in love with... God! Voichita indeed now lives in a convent where she plans to make vows. The priest agrees, if somewhat reluctantly, to accommodate Alina before their (hypothetical) departure. He sees all too well that not only is the young woman materialistic but hostile and troublesome as well...
Trivia:
French certificate # 132320 delivered on 15-11-2012. See more »
Quotes: Priest:
The man who leaves and the man who comes back are not the same.
See more »
User Review
Love in times of prayer
Rating: 8/10
A grim and intense story about love, faith, the presence of God and the
absence of God, slowly penetrates the viewer's mind, so slowly that it
takes Director and Screenplayer Cristian Mungiu more than two hours to
make a convincing case for redemption. No doubt that he has a skilled
team, to include Oleg Mutu (cinematography). This is not a horror
movie; what is horrifying is the knowledge that it is based on a real
story of a 2005 Christian Orthodox exorcism gone wrong, somewhere
beyond the hills of Moldavia (a region in Eastern Romania). The
scariest aspect is that it can happen to you, no need for a monastery
or any kind of mental illness. All it takes is to express disdain
against a highly controlled environment, the kind of environment that
requires continuously patching the stove such that no smoke comes out
to spoil the harmony of a strict yet loving family. The movie builds
upon the viewer's expectancy that what can go wrong it will, and, with
a remarkable lack of explicit violence, creates a gripping parallel
reality where all imaginary roads are paved with good, harmful
intentions. Both the priest and the doctor want to help, each in his
system of reference. The police are interested in helping too, to the
best of their ability. In the end, it's hard to blame or hate anybody
for the strange turn of events. Even the priest (Valeriu Andriuta)
draws some sympathy for his apparent lack of options. But hey, there is
a bright side to this bleak work of art, not a masterpiece but still an
outstanding work of art: the thin line between desire and rejection
drawn by Cosmina Stratan (Voichita) and Cristina Flutur (Alina).
Patched with moments of fragile silence and delicate whispers, their
relationship evolves into one of the most tender and frightening love
stories. Now, who harbors the Devil is still up for debate…
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