There's no big twist or unexpected occurrence in this short film to spoil, but I turned on the spoiler warning since I'm probably going to discuss just about everything in the film.
Judging by the low user rating (albeit with very few votes) and the first user comment, people may not be understanding this short film. Hopefully I can shed some light on the subject. And if you don't speak Romanian (I don't), then watch it a couple of times so you can catch all the visuals and subtitles. I was a bit baffled on the first viewing, but really liked this short upon second viewing.
First off, if you are dissatisfied that this film does not end with a resolution... well guess what... the filmmaker let you know right up front that was going to be the case when she started the film with the Albert Einstein quote "the formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution". That is, rather than seeking a direct route to a quick solution, one should ask new questions and look at old problems from new angles.
The setup is that an attractive, unmarried, philosophical, middle-class young woman (Erie) in modern Romania learns that she is pregnant with triplets, and although she has a steady boyfriend, the pregnancy is unplanned. Most of the film has Erie encountering a number of different people, and getting a number of different perspectives on the issues of unplanned pregnancy and abortion. One of the things I really like about this film is that it avoids the vehement, moralistic arguments that is usually seen in American made films about the subject. Different views are presented, but you don't get people screaming at each other and trying to kill each other.
Erie's mother expresses a traditional view, that the purpose of one's life is to get married, have children, and raise them to healthy adults so that they can, in turn, do the same thing. Thus, the family, and the species, continues. Erie's boyfriend declares that he is ready to be a father, but Erie finds this vexing because it's a sudden reversal from his pre-pregnancy existential philosophy that the world is a rotten place and that they should not bring children into it. Erie also hangs out with a young girl from her neighborhood who plays the Escargot (spiral) form of hopscotch, and their time together represents the joys of having children.
Erie's doctor offers the pragmatic view that is typically required of doctors. On the one hand, the doctor congratulates her for a healthy pregnancy and the thrill of triplets. On the other hand, the doctor admits that it's not the ideal situation for an unwed woman and reminds her that abortion is an option. A much older woman in the waiting room of the clinic talks at length about the current problem of world overpopulation and how much worse it will get, and about the wonderful availability of modern abortion which wasn't allowed in her youth. She also states that her family never recovered financially from having a third child. A grim tidbit for a young woman who faces the prospect of having three all at once.
Despite being an intelligent modern woman, Erie also visits the neighborhood fortune tellers where she is told that "one child will have a great life, one child will have a very bad life, and the future of the third child is beyond understanding". WOW!!! What a quandary for a woman expecting triplets. That muddles the situation even more. Erie meets back with her boyfriend, and we assume they will ponder and discuss their future and options.
The film ends delightfully with a man and a goat stopping on the center circle of the hopscotch course. The man tells his goat something along the lines of "You think you've reached the center of the earth, but once the center of the earth is reached, there's nothing there. It disappears." I'm not sure I understand all the meaning, although it seems to tie into the theme of non-resolution, but I really like it.
Overall... very intelligent, well written and well acted short film.
Judging by the low user rating (albeit with very few votes) and the first user comment, people may not be understanding this short film. Hopefully I can shed some light on the subject. And if you don't speak Romanian (I don't), then watch it a couple of times so you can catch all the visuals and subtitles. I was a bit baffled on the first viewing, but really liked this short upon second viewing.
First off, if you are dissatisfied that this film does not end with a resolution... well guess what... the filmmaker let you know right up front that was going to be the case when she started the film with the Albert Einstein quote "the formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution". That is, rather than seeking a direct route to a quick solution, one should ask new questions and look at old problems from new angles.
The setup is that an attractive, unmarried, philosophical, middle-class young woman (Erie) in modern Romania learns that she is pregnant with triplets, and although she has a steady boyfriend, the pregnancy is unplanned. Most of the film has Erie encountering a number of different people, and getting a number of different perspectives on the issues of unplanned pregnancy and abortion. One of the things I really like about this film is that it avoids the vehement, moralistic arguments that is usually seen in American made films about the subject. Different views are presented, but you don't get people screaming at each other and trying to kill each other.
Erie's mother expresses a traditional view, that the purpose of one's life is to get married, have children, and raise them to healthy adults so that they can, in turn, do the same thing. Thus, the family, and the species, continues. Erie's boyfriend declares that he is ready to be a father, but Erie finds this vexing because it's a sudden reversal from his pre-pregnancy existential philosophy that the world is a rotten place and that they should not bring children into it. Erie also hangs out with a young girl from her neighborhood who plays the Escargot (spiral) form of hopscotch, and their time together represents the joys of having children.
Erie's doctor offers the pragmatic view that is typically required of doctors. On the one hand, the doctor congratulates her for a healthy pregnancy and the thrill of triplets. On the other hand, the doctor admits that it's not the ideal situation for an unwed woman and reminds her that abortion is an option. A much older woman in the waiting room of the clinic talks at length about the current problem of world overpopulation and how much worse it will get, and about the wonderful availability of modern abortion which wasn't allowed in her youth. She also states that her family never recovered financially from having a third child. A grim tidbit for a young woman who faces the prospect of having three all at once.
Despite being an intelligent modern woman, Erie also visits the neighborhood fortune tellers where she is told that "one child will have a great life, one child will have a very bad life, and the future of the third child is beyond understanding". WOW!!! What a quandary for a woman expecting triplets. That muddles the situation even more. Erie meets back with her boyfriend, and we assume they will ponder and discuss their future and options.
The film ends delightfully with a man and a goat stopping on the center circle of the hopscotch course. The man tells his goat something along the lines of "You think you've reached the center of the earth, but once the center of the earth is reached, there's nothing there. It disappears." I'm not sure I understand all the meaning, although it seems to tie into the theme of non-resolution, but I really like it.
Overall... very intelligent, well written and well acted short film.
