I first saw Cristian Mungiu, the writer and director of "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," when he was at the podium in Cannes, taking questions from the press after winning the Palme d'Or. He was incredibly impressive, fielding questions effortlessly in English and French (without translation) and talking modestly about how he and producer-cinematographer Oleg Mutu were family men who worked diligently and without angst at their jobs, which happened to involve making movies. "To be honest, we don't live like artists," he said.
A few months later, I met Mungiu during his brief visit to New York, and we discussed the conceptual origins and production process behind one of the most acclaimed European films of recent years. Despite his film's challenging subject matter and his characters' grueling odyssey, Mungiu sees "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" as a genre film at least as much as an art film. In fact, Mungiu may be the leading representative in a new generation of European filmmakers who grew up liking both Hollywood entertainment films and the art-house classics of Bergman and Truffaut, and his film brilliantly straddles those universes.
You can hear a podcast of my interview with Cristian Mungiu here.
The abortion doctor
Susan Wicklund has received death threats and worn a bulletproof vest to work. But what really scares her, she writes in "This Common Secret," is the war on reproductive rights.
By Eryn Loeb, Salon
How abortion changed the world
From a sketchy underground doctor to the American fight against communism, a look at the unlikely forces that helped spread global family planning.
By Michelle Goldberg, Salon
What's wrong with the new pro-lifers
The progressive anti-abortion movement still doesn't truly value the life and identity of the mother.
By Frances Kissling, Salon
Is there a next generation of abortion providers?
As if the threat of violence and divisive politics weren't enough, getting trained is almost impossible.
By Kate Harding, Salon
When abortion was a crime
Reagan, an assistant professor of history, medicine and women's studies at the University of Illinois, dedicates her disturbing work on abortion in America before Roe v. Wade to "the lives of... women who died trying to control their reproduction."
The abortion debate
An incredibly interesting debate that looks at both the pros and cons of abortion from a secularist viewpoint.
“Egg-as-a-Person” Initiative on the 2010 Ballot in Colorado
My Saturday at the abortion clinic
Secular Sunday School: Blasphemy Laws
Weed: Shall Ye Be California's Savior? 