Meeting the expectations of western consumers on the Romanian film Beyond the Hills by Cristian Mungiu

Abstract

The film Beyond the Hills (Cristian Mungiu, 2012, RO, FR, BEL) is set in a convent struggling with major financial problems in post-transitional Romania, where a deadly exorcism is being performed. The story is based on a true incident. Accordingly, the cinematic language operates through the means of realism. Nevertheless, at the level of the images, art historical traditions, contemporary design tendencies and current fashion trends are drawn upon to give the monastery a simple and timeless beauty. This transforms the monastery into a place of longing for the cinema audience. The film costume plays a special role in this. It contributes in a particular way to identification processes, invokes the sacred and connects with the upmarket consumer culture of contemporary lifestyle-movements.