4-3-2: a must-see

Just watched one of the best films I've seen in some time--also one of the hardest films to watch in some time. 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (2007) was the last of the "big three" Romanian films of recent years to make it to DVD (after The Death of Mr. Lazarescu [2005] and 12:08, East of Bucharest [2006]).  4-3-2 won the Palm d'Or @ Cannes 2007, and deservedly so.  It's wrenching, it's heartbreaking.  It's the real deal.

Technically, the film is actually reminiscent of our Danish friends from Dogme95 (e.g., The Celebration [1998] and The Idiots [1998]): long takes, handheld, no music soundtrack, etc.  The DVD extras are quite nice, including extended interviews w/ the director and the cinematographer.  Also, there's a short documentary about taking the film on the road to show in provincial Romanian towns that no longer have a dedicated cinema in which to watch these films.

In light of my current research on Lithuania, I'm arguing that--at least from an audience perspective--Lithuanian "national cinema" was only viable while Lithuania was not a nation-state, but rather a republic of the USSR.  Conversely, after re-independence, Lithuanian national cinema has collapsed.  In the Romanian case, this collapse of the audience is also clearly happening... And yet we've seen some amazing, world-class films come from there in the past few years.  What lessons can Baltic filmmakers take from the Romanian case?

Below, I've posted the trailer for the film (now out on DVD).  Do yourself a favor and see 4 Months...  But be forewarned: it's a bitter pill.