Otilia and Gabjta are university students living in a dormitory in a Romanian city. The story is set in the years leading up to the fall of the Ceaușescu regime; Gabjta rents a room in a low-end hotel for a specific purpose: with her friend’s help, she has decided to have an abortion.
The procedure is to be performed by a doctor—who risks arrest, as terminating a pregnancy is a criminal offense. Otilia stands by her friend, suffering deeply within herself as the events unfold and gradually coming to realize the fragility of the human condition.
Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
"A film that is deeply political and social—without explicitly appearing so—by placing the human element front and center. It is a film in which subtleties and nuances convey the oppressive, stifling atmosphere of that place and that time. (...) From these specific environmental and thematic details emerges a universal story about a social system that, for decades and generations, stripped people of their dignity and individuality—of their capacity to make choices and take responsibility." (Paolo D'Agostini)
