Not quite as harrowing as a Michael Haneke film but an uncomprmising view of two women, well of one woman mainly, and the night of an abortion for one of them. If we thought the East Germany of The Lives of Others was grim, pre-revolution Romania was worse, certainly poorer with, apparently, endemic grumpiness and nosiness. Men come off pretty badly, so do the middle class family we witness having a birthday meal with a clamped down camera at table level, reminding me of Haneke. The main woman Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) lives a kind of sensitivity and integrity that no-one else in the film seems to, even her friend who has the abortion. Toilets and bathrooms are particularly grim in this film. Apparently the screenplay is based on a true story that the director had heard and was deeply affected by. The film ends rather suddenly.