Beyond The Hills (2013)
88%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 19 nominations
Beyond the Hills is a cinematic masterpiece that delves into the complexities of a society that is trapped between the past and the present. Director Cristian Mungiu’s use of long takes and measured pacing creates a haunting atmosphere that lingers long after the film has ended. The film’s exploration of religion as an instrument of patriarchal oppression is a furious indictment of a broken society. Mungiu poses no easy answers, but instead offers a profound and bruising study of a country whose inhabitants are cowed into incommunication by various forms of repressive dictatorship. Beyond the Hills is a slowly, quietly riveting passion play that is simultaneously thrilling and draining, and a powerful testament to the dangerous combination of ignorance, blind faith, and poverty.
Beyond the Hills is a movie that will make you question everything you thought you knew about religion, love, and society. It’s like watching a slow-motion car crash, but you can’t look away. Director Cristian Mungiu has created a masterpiece that will leave you feeling drained, but in the best way possible. The performances are hauntingly real, and the cinematography is breathtaking. If you’re looking for a movie that will challenge you and make you think, Beyond the Hills is the one for you. Just make sure you have some tissues handy.
Production Company(ies)
Miramax, Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership, Lawrence Bender Productions,
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Campina, Romania
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 30m
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Language(s):Romanian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 8, 2013 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 4, 2017
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Valeriu Andriuta, Liliana Mocanu, Doru Ana, Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur, Dana Tapalaga, directed by Cristian Mungiu, written by Cristian Mungiu, drama, Romanian language, Pascal Caucheteux, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Vincent Maraval, produced by, $109.2K box office, 2h 30m runtime, IFC Films, Beyond the Hills, tension, secular life, religious faith, orphanage, Romanian convent, Germany, friendship, Orthodox Church, anti-Biblical, religious fanaticism, cinematography, camera command, snowy landscapes, European auteur, non-fiction novels, Romanian writer, Tatiana Niculescu Bran, patriarchal, authoritarian monastery, fanatically religious environment, Alina, Voichita, physical torture, psychological torture, spiritual torture, ignorance, blind faith, poverty, Wake-up call, Orthodoxism, Romania, medical science, Priest, human dignity, human condition, divine excuses, God’s doctrine, Bible, anti-Biblical rituals, prayers, imagery, idolatry, human justice, police van, uncertain, tragic outcome
Worldwide gross: $673,493
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $868,284
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,627
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 94,687
US/Canada gross: $124,919
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $161,049
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,581
US/Canada opening weekend: $14,622
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $18,851
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,532
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Liliana Mocanu – Mother Elena
Doru Ana – Father Nusu
Cosmina Stratan – Voichita
Cristina Flutur – Alina
Dana Tapalaga – Mother Superior
Director(s)
Cristian Mungiu
Writer(s)
Cristian Mungiu
Producer(s)
Pascal Caucheteux, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Vincent Maraval
Film Festivals
Sundance, Cannes, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 19 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (108) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (98) | Rotten (10)
A profound and bruising study of a country whose long-suffering inhabitants are cowed into incommunication by various forms of repressive dictatorship, it’s another muted triumph from director Cristian Mungiu.
September 1, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
metro.co.uk
TOP CRITIC
Beyond the Hills is a film of great formal rigour and a furious indictment of religion as an instrument of patriarchal oppression.
August 29, 2017
Amy Taubin
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
“Beyond the Hills” seethes with astonishment and rage at a broken society marooned between the 21st century and the 16th.
April 4, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
It is a haunting movie, dealing with superstitions, possession, even exorcism, one in which Mungiu poses no easy answers, because there are none to be found.
April 4, 2013 | Rating: 4.5/5
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
It’s an enigmatic and austere film from a region where political, sexual and religious repression are as stifling as the sooty air.
April 4, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Mungiu works in long takes and at a measured pace, burying the story’s true-crime origins for half the film’s two-and-a-half-hour length.
March 30, 2013 | Rating: A-
Sam Adams
Philadelphia City Paper
TOP CRITIC
A slowly, quietly riveting passion play for a nation grappling with secularism and modernity.
December 13, 2021
Anton Bitel
Projected Figures
It’s about as simultaneously thrilling and draining as anything that’s come since the heyday of Ingmar Bergman.
March 17, 2021
Scott Nye
Battleship Pretension
A testament to the dangerous extremes of both faith and love, it’s a powerful testament on the dangerous combination of ignorance, blind faith, and poverty.
August 25, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
[Mungiu’s] very specific brand of formalism traps the characters in a theological prison of their own design, and the results are as fascinating to watch as they are painful.
August 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
The fact that Mungiu pulls this off so naturally is what makes Beyond the Hills a near-masterpiece.
June 29, 2019 | Rating: 8.1/10
C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie
Mungiu’s Beyond the Hills delicately explores a highly controversial, contemporary subject with the care and intelligence that it necessitates.
February 13, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Daniel Green
CineVue…
Plot
Two young women who grew up together in an orphanage take different paths in life, with one finding refuge in a Romanian convent and the other moving to Germany, in the drama Beyond the Hills. As tensions rise between secular life and religious faith, the film offers a powerful examination of the struggle.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a strong cast, including Cosmina Stratan and Cristina Flutur in the lead roles.
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