Faith and love tragically clash in Beyond the Hills, Cristian Mungiu’s latest film since his Palme D’Or-winning 4 Months 3 Weeks 2 Days. Mungiu’s film opens with the reunion of two friends: Voichita (Cosmina Stratan) and Alina (Cristina Flutur). Voichita and Alina grew up together at an orphanage before going their separate ways. Alina moved to Germany while Voichita joined an Orthodox monastery to become a nun. The dynamics of their friendship are made clear in the opening scene; Alina recklessly runs along the train tracks to tearfully embrace her friend, while Voichita complains about being embarrassed.

Alina’s purpose for her visit is to take Voichita to Germany so they can work together, but the plan falls apart once the monastery’s Father (Valeriu Andriuţǎ) finds out about the plan. He tells Voichita that if she leaves there’s no coming back to the monastery. The Father’s decision makes Voichita refuse to leave with Alina. From the very beginning it’s obvious that Alina is madly in love with her friend (Mungiu hints that the two might have been lovers in the past, but it’s never confirmed), and the news they won’t be running off together triggers a breakdown. Alina’s behaviour becomes violent and irrational as she fights the other nuns and tries to throw herself into a well. The church tries to find someone more capable who can take care of Alina but they’re repeatedly turned away, leaving them with seemingly no other option but to take care of the problem themselves.

Mungiu’s sense of naturalism, combined with his eye for terrific compositions, help support his mostly subdued script. The brilliance of Mungiu’s screenplay, based on a true story that was also adapted into a play, is how effortlessly his major themes rise out of the film’s events. Voichita and Alina, having no family or friends to count on, are representative of people at the bottom rung of society’s ladder. Voichita may have found her answer through religion, but Alina is constantly cast aside from the different institutions she’s brought to. The church initially doesn’t want her, knowing that she needs proper help; the hospital is too busy to find out what’s ailing her; her foster parents have no room for her anymore. Once the film reaches its inevitable conclusion and the finger of blame starts getting pointed, it’s clear that fault lies with the failure of these institutions rather than any specific person. Sadly, the people who do the most harm are those with the best intentions.

With a running time of 150 minutes, Beyond the Hills certainly has scenes which earn the film’s status as a slow burner, but the length and Mungiu’s attention to detail have a cumulative effect. Everyone is a victim of circumstance, trying their best to function within a broken system. Mungiu’s morally grey ending makes sure that the question being asked is “Why did this happen?” as opposed to “Who is responsible?” The fact that Mungiu pulls this off so naturally is what makes Beyond the Hills a near-masterpiece.

I started out my forth day at the festival with Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica which I purposely went in without knowing a whole lot about it. Part of what makes film festivals fun is to walk into something and like it completely surprise you when it blows you away. However, this did not happen here. Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica was an uninspired character study that never seemed to click. This is likely due to the fact that you never really care much about the main character. We follow Veronica around after she just received her first job out of medical school. Turns out the job is not as rewarding as she thought it would be which only adds to her already insecure state of being. It seemed content with playing it by the books aside from the fact here didn’t feel like there was a climax what so ever. There was really nothing about this that would make it stick out as a memorable film.

RATING: 6/10

Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica

My last film of the day was Beyond The Hills by Cristian Mungiu whose last film (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) took the top prize at Cannes five years ago. Mungiu also picked up a couple awards from Cannes for this film including Prix du Scenario (Best Screenplay) and Prix d’interpretation feminine (Best Actress) in which both of the leads tied for.

It begins as Alina comes back to meet long time friend Voichita who is now a sister at a local orthodox monastery. When the two meet there is a sense that they have a deeper connection than just two friends do. From there Mungiu slowly reveals more about their past which due to Voichita’s circumstances of being devout to God leads to some haunting scenes.

Beyond The Hills is not an easy watch as it demands your attention to subtle detail for 2 and half hours. The dialog heavy film starts to pick up a little bit in the last 40 minutes but tension was felt the entire time. The film was well made and incredibly well shot which included several long takes. I think it would have benefited from a score to pair with the film as there was almost none present. It is one of those films that if watched again you would likely pick up on small but important details you missed the first time through.

RATING: 6/10

Beyond The Hills

COMING UP: My last day at the festival will conclude with Kris Swanberg’s (wife of indie director Joe Swanberg) Empire Builder and the 60’s rock ‘n roll inspired Not Fade Away.

Recap of some of my Tweets from today:

Follow @WayTooIndie for full coverage of the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival!

My first film of Day 4 will be ONCE UPON A TIME WAS I, VERONCIA. Don’t know a lot about it but excited nonetheless.

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 15, 2012

Nice day for some street saxophone playing. #Chicago twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 15, 2012

You know you are at #ChiFilmFest48 when you find it strange when a film is not subtitled. @chifilmfest

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

ONCE UPON A TIME WAS I, VERONICA was nothing to write home about. Felt uninspired.

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

The line for BEYOND THE HILLS crazy long. Needless to say it is going to packed in that theater. #ChiFilmFest48

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

BEYOND THE HILLS is not an easy watch as it demands your attention to subtle detail for 2 and half hours. #ChiFilmFest48

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012