Beyond the Hills

Alina returns to Romania after spending years working in Germany, hoping to take Voichita back with her. The two young women grew up together in an orphanage and share a bond closer than friendship. Voichita, however, now lives in an isolated Orthodox convent, where she has found faith, purpose and a new family among the nuns. Alina's efforts to persuade her to leave meet steady refusal, and her growing resistance to the convent's strict rules soon puts her at odds with the priest and the mother superior. Beyond the Hills is set in present-day Romania and was written and produced as well as directed by Cristian Mungiu, following his 2007 film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. It is based on real events and is the second feature in the director's chronological filmography, later followed by Graduation and R.M.N. The cast is led by Cosmina Stratan as Voichita and Cristina Flutur as Alina, with Valeriu Andriuță as the priest and Dana Tapalagă as the mother superior. The film runs 150 minutes. On IMDb it holds a score of 7.1 from 218 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 8.1 out of 10 from 107 reviews, a notable gap between professional and audience response.