Beyond the Hills

Synopsis: Alina and Voichita have been friends since their orphanage days. And they have been lovers since they became sexually mature. But despite their oath of mutual fidelity, Alina, who could not bear poverty any more, emigrated to Germany where she became a barmaid. Now she just could not take the estrangement from Voichita and today she is back to Romania with a view to taking Voichita along with her to Germany. The only trouble is that in the meantime her girlfriend has betrayed her in falling in love with... God! Voichita indeed now lives in a convent where she plans to make vows. The priest agrees, if somewhat reluctantly, to accommodate Alina before their (hypothetical) departure. He sees all too well that not only is the young woman materialistic but hostile and troublesome as well...
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Cristian Mungiu
Production: IFC Films
  7 wins & 16 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.6
Metacritic:
79
Rotten Tomatoes:
91%
NOT RATED
Year:
2012
152 min
$71,701
Website
206 Views


mobra films

presents

beyond the hills

Stay there!

Ok, calm down.

Alina...

Alina, let me go,

people are watching...

- You wrote this?

- No.

- It looks like your writing.

- No, the priest put this here last year.

Be careful, I haven't told them anything yet,

so don't speak about it before I do.

Why didn't you tell them?

The priest was busy

and I didn't find the moment.

THIS IS THE HOUSE OF GOD

FORBIDDEN TO ANYBODY OF A DIFFERENT RELIGION

BELIEVE AND DON'T DOUB

Here.

Electrical candle.

Oh, thanks but there's no electricity here.

I'll keep it like this anyway, it's nice.

This is all your stuff?

Everything else I had

I gave away.

- Do you have any suitcases?

- Mhm...

I have these big plastic bags.

You want to lay down a bit?

No.

Ok, then... come wash your face.

- You want me to help you?

- No.

- This is my chore since I came here.

- What's that? - Fetching the water.

Everything is strict here. Daddy tells each of us in the morning

what we have to do, and then he helps us if we need anything.

- Why do you call this priest "daddy"?

- When there are strangers around we call him "priest" too...

This was made by a painter brought

by daddy to paint the church.

It's more just a trial, cause the money finished

and finally this painting is all we got.

Pity...

Bless us.

God bless.

- Mummy, this is Alina.

- Welcome.

- Sister Elisaveta.

- Mother Antonia.

- Mother Justina.

- Voichita, take this bucket and give it to the priest.

- You'll stay a few moments with the girls?

- Come on, nobody's going to eat her, go.

Bless me.

- Take a little clay and put it around that,

it cracked and it smokes. - Yes.

- Finish it before tomorrow evening, because maybe

Mr. Dima will pass by. Clear? - Yes.

What?

Daddy, I wanted to ask you something.

Ask.

About my friend, Alina, from Germany.

The one that I've been in the orphanage with in Birlad.

What, she's not here yet?

She is, she's in the kitchen

with mommy and the girls.

She's... how should I put it...

She's... it's very hard for her there in Germany and...

She's very tormented being alone there,

with nobody near to share her problems.

- Is she a believer?

- She goes to church from time to time, but not too...

Does she confess at least?

I don't know, daddy, but I don't think so,

as she's in Germany for so many years.

How does she want to have peace of

mind and soul if she doesn't confess?

All that she wishes is to

not be alone any more.

We got used to each other at the

orphanage and now it's very hard for her.

You can have all the people in the world beside you,

but if you don't have God in your soul, it's for nothing.

I told her, daddy, but she keeps telling me that I should

go with her, to Germany...

- That YOU should go? - To go for a while, until she gets

through the bad times and she calms down.

I thought you already chose

the path you want to take...

I chose it, daddy, I was just

telling you about her wishes.

I would turn back as soon

as she feels better...

On this path with Jesus

it doesn't work that way...

...that today I'm devoted to him,

but tomorrow I've got something to do...

There must be a continuity

in this spiritual life of ours.

It's not possible like this,

with pauses. You get it?

Yes, daddy...

And moreover, the one who goes and the one

who returns are never the same person.

Do you understand?

Yes, daddy.

Priest, Mr. Valerica says he

found a painter for the church.

How much does he ask for?

About 100 million.

He can whistle for it.

We don't have that kind of money now.

- Should I speak to Mr. Dima?

- About what?

- For the painting.

- Leave Mr. Dima alone.

For building it's one thing,

but now for painting...

He says he'll send somebody tomorrow

for the concrete casting in the back...

if he finds a car from the building site

and if it's not cold, because if it's cold...

...he said that better than casting and cracking,

we'd better wait for the warm weather.

- It has to be done before Easter.

- Mhm... It has to... If God also helps us with some good weather...

It will be warmer from now on.

And we also have to change

the gas can. This one is empty.

Tomorrow when you take the food

to the children you can change it.

- We need money, Father.

- You have nothing left from yesterday?

- No Father, I bought some towels, some

chains for the dog, it keeps breaking them...

- You'd better buy some padlocks, so we can

repair the old chains. - I bought padlocks too.

Listen, did those people

pay us for the vinegar?

No.

Mr. Valerica said that we have to

give some eggs too.

How many do we give to the orphanage?

I don't know. As many as we can gather.

Tell them that the eggs will come after Easter,

because now we don't have enough.

- But they need the eggs for Easter, not after...

- Where from? We have to give some to the children now.

(Alina whispers):

Ask him.

And with the gas can?

What do we do?

Ask him to charge it on credit if he wants.

If he doesn't want, God bless him and we'll make fire with wood.

We don't have too much

wood left either, daddy.

We can take wood from

the forest ourselves.

Daddy, may Alina come with us to town tomorrow?

She has to take care of some papers.

- Is there room in the car? - Yes.

We can put the food in the car trunk.

- You want to change your ID card?

- No, daddy, she needs some papers for work in Germany.

In Germany...

I never left the country. But I'm not sorry.

I would go to see the Saint Tomb if given the chance.

But in the west... And I'll tell you why:

Western Europe has lost the right path.

There's nothing sacred left out there.

In the name of liberty everything is allowed.

They marry men with men, women with women... Yes...

Drugs everywhere...

Even the church is no more

as it was supposed to be.

I'm in favor of tolerance,

but with some reasonable limits.

But there where you've been,

was there a church?

- Yes, but not ours.

- Sorry?

Not Orthodox.

You should know that for a true believer,

even to enter a non-Orthodox church is a sin!

But poor people don't think about this any more.

They go wherever they can to get some money...

...for the children, and meanwhile the children

grow up by themselves, without mother, without father...

...and we wonder how come so

many unspeakable things happen.

Sure they do, if that child has nobody to guide him,

to get him to the church, to teach him good from bad.

That means you also didn't

have a place to confess.

You have to come to confess...

We enter into Lent and

it's not proper this way.

I'll wait for you tomorrow morning.

People find their inner peace when

they're forgiven for their sins.

Let's pray.

You have a fever.

From the cold in the train I think.

Will you rub me with alcohol?

- I don't have alcohol.

- I do.

We'd better go on your bed.

Why, we don't sleep together?

- No.

- Why?

It's not allowed here at the convent.

Why is that?

It's not proper. Lent is approaching

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Cristian Mungiu

Cristian Mungiu (Romanian: [kristiˈan munˈd͡ʒi.u]; born 27 April 1968) is a Romanian filmmaker, winner of the Palme d'Or in 2007. more…

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