Recensioni degli utenti

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

'Based on a true story' – a phrase that can cover so many bases - is the slow-burning and languorous Romanian film Beyond the Hills.

Set predominantly in a monastery in a bleak and poverty-stricken district, it is a complex and multi-layered film revolving around two young women, Alina and Voichita. Previously childhood friends then lovers, their lives intertwine once more when Alina returns from working in Germany in an attempt to once more enter into a relationship with Voichita who has since taken Holy Orders and is living the chaste and extremely frugal life of a nun. The rekindling of the relationship was always doomed and as Alina's mental health deteriorates with the realisation that she will not achieve her objective, she provokes a series of events culminating in the belief by some that she is possessed and needs cleansing.

A Romanian film about faith, despair and unrequited lesbian love in an impoverished monastery was never likely to be an action-packed, sensationalist blockbuster. It is long at 155 minutes and its pace tends to alternate between dead slow and stop. It's the sort of a film which will take over 5 minutes to show a nun leaving the kitchen to draw water from the well and return to the kitchen with no dialogue or plot advancement throughout that period. But it is a film that has the courage to take its time, confident that it can draw you into the lives of the people whose story it tells. And on the whole it succeeds.

There are no real villains or heroes in the film. It does not take the easy route to mock and blame religion for out-dated belief – when a nun believes she has been sent a sign from God and goes all peculiar, the Orthodox Priest in charge cuts down the hysteria curtly and tells her and the other nuns to move on. No, the people shown in this film, be they doctors, police or those of the cloth, are portrayed as well-meaning individuals all looking to do no harm even if, like all of us, they can be judgmental and self-righteous on occasion. Beyond the Hills is an unashamedly bleak and ultimately very sad film which gives no answers but merely records events leaving its audience to draw their own conclusions.

Cinematography was good, though the constant sound of the ever-blowing wind was sometimes crude and off-putting.

And there was an early failure of the sub-titles. When Alina first arrives at the monastery, the camera concentrates on a hand-written sign at its entrance. It's clearly of some import for it to be shown so, but the audience is not let in on its message. Post-film research ascertained it stated, words to the effect: This is the House of God. Forbidden to those of different religion. You must believe and not doubt. It would have explained much.

Albert Camus said, "The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding." These words become prophetic in Romanian director Cristian Mungui's Beyond the Hills, a powerful tale of religious and emotional obsession that leads to tragic consequences. Like his award winning abortion drama, 4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 Days, the Palme d'Or winner at Cannes in 2007, it is deliberately paced and can be demanding to the viewer unaccustomed to long takes without cuts or camera movements. Set in a remote Orthodox Christian convent in rural Moldova known as New Hill Monastery, Beyond the Hills is a social drama based on two books labeled "nonfiction novels" by Romanian journalist Tatiana Niculescu Bran concerning an exorcism in 2005 that became sensationalized in the press.

Filmed in -15 degree weather during the heaviest snow season in years, Oleg Mutu's cinematography makes us feel the bleakness and the cold, damp air inside a convent that has no electricity or running water. As the film begins, Alina (Cristina Flutur) has returned from Berlin to the town in which she grew up. She is met at the train station by Voichita (Cosmina Stratan), her best friend and partner since their years together in an orphanage. Voichita believes she has found her direction, however, in the convent where she is a novice and has become emotionally attached to the priest she calls "Papa" (Valeriu Andriuta) and the mother superior (Dana Tapalaga).

Alina, a sometimes believer, has come to rescue her friend from what she feels is the church's domination and is unprepared for Voichita's unwillingness to leave with her and work together on a German cruise ship. She tells Alina that she has found a sense of family and has been changed by her experience. Though she lovingly invites her friend to give herself to the Lord, Alina feels betrayed. A tug of war develops between the church's fear of the "unbeliever", and their wish to provide sanctuary, knowing that Alina has nowhere else to go. Under threat by those around her, Voichita finds herself torn between her one and only friend and her devotion to God.

Desperate for affection, Alina flirts with suicide and her growing paranoia makes her suspicious of everyone in Voichita's life. Soon, her repeated fits of hysteria land her in the local hospital, but the anti-psychotic drugs provide only a temporary solution. When the doctors tell the priest that there is nothing further they can do to help, Alina is returned to the convent but the situation does not improve. The distraught girl does leave on her own to go back to her last foster home, but gives up all her possessions and returns to the monastery, unable to stay away from Voichita.

Ultimately, the priest is convinced that she is not just a sinner, but one possessed by the devil and must undergo an exorcism. Without her consent, Alina is tied to a cross with ropes and chains and her mouth gagged to prevent her screaming as the service is performed. Beyond the Hills is an intense and haunting film, and the performances of Flutur and Stratan, who shared the Best Actress award at Cannes, add depth and complexity to the film's moral universe. Under Mungui's direction, the film avoids pointing the finger. There are no good guys and bad guys and everyone involved thinks they are acting in Alina's best interests, but they are sadly myopic.

Regardless of their good intentions, each character is so caught up in the narrow scope of their vision that they cannot see beyond their immediate self-interest. What becomes lost is the ability to look beyond rituals and forms to find the substance - love, charity, and compassion. According to Mungui, the film "speaks about guilt but is more concerned with love and choices, with the things people do in the name of their beliefs, the difficulty of telling good from bad, understanding religion literally, indifference as an even greater sin than intolerance and freedom of will." When these factors are present, tragedy cannot be far away.

It is a sad story told in a fair way. You see the two characters desperately trying to save each other, but also desperately trying to keep themselves into the "safe bubble" they created around them: Voichita's bubble is the monastery, Alina's bubble is Voichita, the only human being that ever loved her.

It is the story of two girls who grew up in an orphanage (I felt a shiver trying to imagine it) and had few choices at the moment they became adults. The movie lefts many questions open. One of them, the hardest perhaps, is how was it possible that nobody (monastery, hospital, school, foster family, police, etc.) was able to help a girl, while everybody agreed on the fact that she needed help.

Well,I wanted desperately, not to like, to love this movie... All the premises were there, I couldn't wait for the film to be released... But, as the film was developing in front of my eyes, I was completely feeling less...No attachment to the girls, I didn't even care for one damn second about any of them, the film scratches everything that is supposed to carve upon, the director seems in a hurry to reach something that slips between his fingers...I felt no compassion for that girl, in some moments I was about to scream to her, get out of that place, girl, return to Germany, live your life and put ourselves out of the misery of watching this movie!And one more thing. The performances of both girls, cumulated, multiplied by 100, they never, ever, never ever, are any close to the magnificent performance of Emanuelle Riva in Amour... So , Nanni Moretti, I don't really know what came to your mind when you gave that award to these two, frustrating the beautiful Riva of that super-deserved award

I had only watched one other Romanian film before, and that was the abortion nightmare, "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days," which was as stark and gritty as could be. Now this one, entitled "Beyond the Hills," also came with good recommendations. I was surprised to learn after watching that these two films were done by the same director, Cristian Mungiu.

"Beyond the Hills" is a strange film set in rural Romania, in the strict confines of an Orthodox monastery. It was about a nun Volchita and her old friend (maybe even her lover?) from the orphanage, Alina. Alina came over to Volchita's monastery for a visit, but her arrival turns their serene monastic existence into extreme turmoil. What is wrong with Alina? Is she epileptic? Is she psychotic? Is she possessed?

This movie is not really about Alina's nebulous condition rather than about the tense atmosphere director Cristian Mungiu creates for us the audience to immerse in. This film may seem to be Mungiu's exposition against the Orthodox church and its strict antiquated ways. However, the priest and the nuns were shown to be genuinely concerned about Alina despite her unpredictable disruptive ways.

This film has a thought-provoking concluding scene that speaks volumes about what the whole movie was about despite its simplicity. Overall, this movie was interesting as a sociological study, but like Mungiu's controversial first film, this is not for everybody.

A KVIFF viewing of Romanian auteur Cristian Mugiu's latest gripping modern exorcism tale which has garnered two wins in Cannes this year, a BEST SCREENPLAY award and the young pair Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur shared Best Actress honor, which staunchly vindicates Cristian's consistent excellence not only in his fine-tempo and well-pitched directing bent, but a robust script and ultra-overpowering cast as a whole superlative pack.

Like his breakthrough chef-d'oeuvre 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS (2009, a 9/10), the film anew grapples with the contentious subject-matters (this time it is about religious belief) and assigns two young girls in the main roles. The film acquaints its viewers with a secluded locale, an austere monastery (with no electricity and utilizing well water for example) is in stark contrast to the contemporary modernity, then slowly unwinds a tug-of-war in the name of love between God and human, a hapless destiny falls upon 2 girls from the same orphanage, one has become a pious nun so far, yet another is an obstinate non-believer, who chooses God as her love competitor and defies any compromise.

There is an unremitting impulse of captivation throughout the entire film which successfully banishes the awareness of its 150-minutes length. One of Mungiu's trump card is his virtuoso camera deployment, which has again fixated on a well-organized angle, especially in the indoor scenes, all the inconsequential items have been placed into incessant expositions of still paintings.

A strong-arm tension has been outstandingly established among three main characters (the said two girls plus the priest), although a few well-worn plot twists-and-turns may not survive the hindsight, however the eventual repercussion is nothing if not astonishing.

Much accolades should be granted to the film about its no shade of grey amplification of managing the thorny issue, the clear-minded of eschewing any grandiosity with a telling coda, which can never be less appreciated among cinephiles.

Mungiu has managed in his films a perfect balance between portraying specific Romanian social-cultural issues and in the same time rendering them universal for the public abroad. He touches some of the Romanian taboos like the Orthodox church and its often brainwash practises, the efficiency of God-like doctors or the dark side of some of the do-gooders in social aid and work. The irony is that while all the characters in the film proclaim often and loud that they are sympathetic towards the orphan girl they are also the authors of her greatest abuses , from financial rip off to medical neglect or physical restraint .The system itself is rejecting the poorest and most vulnerable young people as is pointed out throughout the film by the recurrent motif of 'we have nowhere to go' leaving them in the hands of an often merciless world .In the very best of tradition of the superstitious Christian Romanian culture the real problems are avoided as they will throw a negative light back on everyone so it is easiest to blame all on evil spirits .The last scene gives a great insight into an emotionally devoid society , when such individual drama will become another media circus headline.

A complex story plot describing a tragic division of life paths of two female friends who found themselves either into grinding mill of bigotry in church structures or into that of a cold bureaucratic apparatus. This poetically told story leads us through meditative winter landscapes and dark interiors of the monastery where, besides obvious social issues, one can vaguely discern a disturbing relationship between the two friends consisting of perplexing resignation and self-destruction. The success of this work lies in the abundance of details which bring the audience into contemplation about human nature.

A girl visits a convent to try and bring her friend home.

Starring Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur.

Written by Cristian Mungiu. Inspired by the Non Fiction Novels of Tatiana Niculescu Bran.

Directed by Cristian Mungiu.

This is a dark and disturbing movie that would have been far better if it wasn't so slow paced.

It moves at a snails pace but maybe that's what Cristian Mungiu intended, after all I'm guessing that's how things flow in a convent. The story isn't bad and as far as I could tell ( this was a Romanian movie with English subtitles) the acting was okay without being incredible.

I liked the outside location cinematography but the indoor stuff looked a bit wobbly. This is an arty film and usually I like anything like this but for me this was too slow and bordering on boring. For me it lacked something but I'm not sure what. Maybe the relationship between the two main characters could have been explored more to make this more watchable? We only get a few suggestions of a love affair in the past between them both and so perhaps that's what this movie needed.

It does make you think. It's pretty much an anti religious movie and that's the message that came across clearly at the end.

7/10

The Romanian film Dupa Dealuri (2012) was shown in the U.S. with the title "Beyond the Hills." The movie was written and directed by Cristian Mungiu.

A better name for this film would have been "Beyond the City," because the movie takes place in a Romanian convent where conditions are basically medieval--no electricity, no running water, no central heating. Ironically, the convent overlooks a modern city. When anyone from the convent visits the city, we are jarred into remembering that the action is happening today, rather than 500 years ago. A group of nuns live in the convent, which is directed by an Orthodox priest and his wife, who is the mother superior.

Two young women grew up together in an orphanage, and then separated. One of the friends, (Volchita, played by Cosmina Stratan) has joined the convent. The other (Alina, played by Cristina Flutur) has gotten work in Germany. When Alina returns to visit Cosmina at the convent, the movie appears destined to be about a liberated woman freeing her more traditional friend from the repressive religious, patriarchal, atmosphere of the convent. That's not the direction the film takes.

We learn that Alina is desperate to be with Cosmina. She wants Cosmina to leave the convent and join her in Germany. It's Alina who is troubled. Cosmina is happy at the convent, and truly believes that Alina belongs there as well.

I assumed that the convent would be a place of repression and degradation, but that isn't the case. The life is hard, but the nuns are not mistreated, and they don't appear to have been brainwashed into accepting the strict rules set down by the priest (played by Valeriu Andriuta).

The interactions between the outsider--Alina--with Cosmina and the nuns and priest take turns and twists that I wouldn't have predicted. It's a hard, cold life at the convent, and this is a hard, cold portrayal of that life, and what happens when that life is disturbed.

Beyond the Hills is a grim, but fascinating, movie about good intentions meeting harsh reality. The acting and cinematography are superb. It's definitely worth seeking out and viewing.

We saw this film at the excellent Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House in Rochester. It will work well on DVD. Beyond the Hills was submitted as the Romanian entry in the 2013 Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category.

This film raises many questions about the course of life, the way it is, yet it won't give any answers. It won't give any conclusions. In the middle, in the deep frustration of experiencing futility of life, it leaves us alone. Makes us suffer and question the meaning of life.

How the threads of wisdom and ignorance were interwove in the fabric of life, as inseparable! Is there an eye to distinguish the ignorance and can lead us to salvation? A salvation from our own ignorance, misery we created ourselves, and the misery given by life. As long as there is ignorance, there will be darkness. There can be no light in life.

It is one of the greatest classics of our time. Great piece of art. Director Cristian Mungiu's way of portraying a story is incomparable and it is in the proportion of great masters works.

only a story about love levels. or innocence as fundamental guilt. a story about a girlfriend,God,the other person. an exercise, nice but not really profound, to understand and present heart of things.space of a deus otiosus. Tanacu case is only seed for mirror of Mungiu art. the impressive performance of two actress is real touching. the story - warm, delicate, show of nuances is result of real good work. but , in many scenes, the film has not soul. it is only demonstration of a theory. only game of few ingredients for make a perfect movie for great cinema festivals. the story of monastery is very far from imagines of movie. the persuasion of director is out of real facts circle. sure, it is no new fact. but the final taste is bitter not only as result of message but for easy aesthetic tricks of a director for who Orthodoxy is just a smoke silhouette.

"Beyond The Hills" is without a doubt compelling. Stretching beyond subject matters themselves, the film explores beautifully the thin layers among human relationships, especially when these relationships work primarily under strict environmental patterns. I did find certain scenes to be unnecessary and slightly hoped for better dialog but the outcome was still beautiful. I think it is a film which holds full potential to make you undergo many sentimental transgressions; you will find yourself feeling uneasy due to the very realistic representation of the events, you will shiver during the intimate moments and you will, to say the least, gasp during the final act. The two protagonists are giving exquisite performances; they both have this tremendous quality of emotionally transfixing you right at heart through their very presence and small individual movements. Cinematography is breathtaking; certain scenes were pretty darkish but mostly natural light works wonders. Recommended, quite obviously.

This is a very slow film, always repetitive,the story turn back all the time. I know that Romania is a poor land, and all countries with poverty and ignorance has place to hysterical religions. But I can't believe that a young that lived in Germany could be so weak in middle of a priest and a lot of subdued nuns. The worst thing is the end. Maybe the message is: a so stupid story deserve no appropriate end. The two principal actresses are convincing but the nuns are terrible, and the priest has no force, no conviction. The long moments with a frozen image are terrible. The film is very long, and we feel that this film is longer than his duration. Opera's resume: a bad film.

This is my second Romanian movie in 3 weeks to review in WCA. And both of them were the Oscars sent movie that never made into the final stage. My Romanian movie count is not exceeded to double digit, but I think now I started to like them and hoping to watch many more in the days to come. This movie was less expected by me, well, I was delaying it for some times, eventually finished it with highly satisfied.

From the director of the Golden Globe Nominee movie '4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days' brings the story of two young women who were once abused when in orphanage that led them to bond closely before going their separate ways after leaving the place. One of them returns from working in Germany to win another's heart back who has now found a place in a convent. How the things work out between them, with their new life and the past attachment that affect not only them but entire convent.

If 'Ida' made into the Oscars, I don't know why this one failed to make. Both of them were kind of similar, about the characters who were caught between the faith and emotion. One's true commitment to the faith is tested with the unexpected encounter with the desires. Is the religion too innocence in the modern world? While the human civilisation shifting its phase to the next stage, the 2000 years old belief is struggling to pull together. In that platform this movie was narrated a wonderful story.

"Continuity is essential in our spiritual realm. You can't stop for a break when you feel like it."

The tale was quite clearly displayed when one has to choose between two, even knowing what the reality is, but fixed with their devoted mind on one. Maybe like coming from the orphanage, knowing all the struggles about life, this is the way they pledged to help the society. In the perspective of hardcore believers, the movie might be a little hurtful, but nothing serious offensive. It was just a movie, and sometimes it was a dark comedy that was not intended, but anyway I had a few good laughs.

I am really happy for the movie, I won't consider it an outcry about religious cruelty. Unlike hospitals that legally runs performances, while a monastery like this raises a few questions within its practice that performed against someone's will. After all it was inspired by the real even that took place in the 2005 and mostly factual than fiction.

This was set in the present time, but most of the movie shot in a convent just outskirt of a city, so gives the feel of the 60s, 70s or earlier to that. Because their lifestyle that disconnects from the rest of the world, including their financial struggle. An ideal location for the story and its title. Shot in two different seasons similar to change in the phase and pace of the tale to the intensified conclusion. I loved everyone's performance. Definitely it is not in the line of 'Spotlight', but you can't ignore where the movie is pointing out on what went wrong. In my opinion, it is a must see and surely suggest it for all, well, mostly adults for its sensitiveness.

8/10

Of all the many, many foreign language films I have seen, only a sparse handful are from Romania, but every one of them has impressed me with their rich detail, and their sensibilities to the lives of people in their country. Beyond the Hills, directed by Cristian Mungiu (who also did the masterful 2007 film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) continues in that pattern. It tells the story of two young women, longtime friends who grew up together in an orphanage. Their lives have taken very different paths while they've been apart. One, Voichita, played by Cosmina Stratan, has found a calling as a nun in a Romanian convent; the other, Alina, played by Cristina Flutur, has lived in Germany for work, and once they reunite there's a tension from the start. The person that each has become, conflict with the relations they used to have to each other—relations of a deeper sort at least one of them wants to rekindle once more.

While both young ladies staying at the convent, Alina is impatient with her friend's Orthodox piousness, and angry with the other nuns and the head priest there, and she acts outs erratically and at times violently. Voichita meanwhile tries to make Alina find her way in God. Both these performances, of almost polar-opposite tones, come in vivid believability. Flutur's wildness is extraordinary to see, but Stratan's emotive restraint is nearly as impressive. The pace of the story builds gradually but never uninterestingly, rich with the Romanian setting and character interactions, making scenes of even apparent mundane tasks compelling (a scene of Voichita getting her friend a document reminded me a lot of a scene in Mungiu's, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, where one the main character tries to register a hotel room for her friend to get an abortion in). It's has a gritty realism that doesn't typically shock (though there is at least one big shock) as much as it gets under the viewer's skin.

Beyond the Hills is not an easy film to watch, particularly in the turn it takes towards the end. I won't say much about it other than it concerns very much how the push and pull conflict of the two protagonists comes to ahead in a sequence of ignorant decisions based on superstition (in addition to the lack of interest of people outside the convent). At the end, there's a shot of somebody's face that will not be easily forgotten. This is a film which rewards patience and appreciation of detail, and though at nearly two and a half hours it is not a slog at all if you let it draw you in. It's not quite at the level of 4 Month, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, but, thanks in large part to the two strong leads and the director's building of their story, it comes quite close.