Film Review: Beyond The Hills (12A) (Romania/France/Belgium 2012) (Director: Cristian Mungiu) (Romanian with English Subtitles) Saturday 16.03.2013 14:00 The Filmhouse Cinema Screen Two, Edinburgh 

This is director Cristian Mungiu's follow-up film to the exceptional 'Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days' (4M3W2D) (2007), which I would regard as faultless 10/10 film. His new film concerns two young adult women, who were  intimate childhood friends while living in a orphanage together. At the start of the film they are reunited when one of them travels from Germany to visit the other who is residing in an orthodox monastery. The returning friend clearly wishes for more intimacy than the one who has taken religious orders is able to give. 

Due to a wish to be close to the one who lives by religious structure, the returning friend comes to put up with the invasive requirement to confess 'sins' committed and also to accept the accompanying penance. As the young woman comes to display resistance to her treatment as well as the generally oppressive atmosphere, those from the order escalate the nature of the 'assistance' they give to the young lady to a point where it is difficult to see it as anything other than barbaric persecution. Those from the order do see it differently, due to being blinded by their fervered following of christianity, they see it as trying to assist her to rid herself of evil spirits who had taken hold of her. Needless to say it all ends tragically. 

The film is a very good portrayal of the difficulty of trying to have centuries old traditions living alongside and being able to accept more liberal aspects of modernity. The performances I find find very difficult to find any fault with. The pace is quite labored until it reaches the crushendo of the persecution from the order to the young visitor. This is very good film, though I did not think it was as good or as fascinating as 4M3W2D. 

Rating: 9/10.