By Dave McCoy
MSN Movies

One of the many intriguing things that happens during any film festival is that, from day to day, subjects seem to repeat themselves in several films from completely different parts of the world.

And the subject I stumbled onto blindly on day two of Cannes 2007? International abortion and the hell of adolescence (both together and separate). Nothing like some light themes to kick off your festival, eh?

The finest of the five films I've seen so far is Cristian Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" which is playing In Competition. It's the type of rough ride that I'll explain to you and that will make most of you feel very uncomfortable and say to yourself, "Uh yeah... won't be seeing that." And that'd be a shame. Set during the final moments of communist Romania, "4 Months" finds two teen students, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca, in a breakout performance) and Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) in a dangerous moral and social quandary. Gabita is pregnant and wants to abort the child, but abortion is illegal in Romania. Otilia agrees to help her best friend have an illegal abortion. The two rent a hotel room, and on recommendation from another of Gabita's friends, they hire a mysterious man named Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov, direct and pure evil) to perform the abortion. When it becomes clear that Bebe isn't just interested in money as payment, the film turns horrific. All of this is shot in a minimalistic, no-frills style that would make the Dardenne brothers proud. It is definitely designed to give the audience an unblinking, unsentimental glimpse into a maddening situation, and unbelievable personal sacrifice and friendship.

It doesn't matter what side of the abortion debate you take; you'll find conflicting arguments here without didactic solutions. Would the girls have to suffer through this experience if abortion was legal in Romania? No ... but then, what of that dead 4 month, 3 week, and 2-day-old fetus lying in a towel on the bathroom floor? Like I said, this ain't pretty, but I won't be able to shake it for the rest of my life.

Abortion also plays a central role in Andrei Zvyagintsev's "The Banishment" (also In Competition). The film is so stereotypically Russian, that it's near insufferable -- two hours and 30 minutes, and slow as a slug; with uninterrupted, six- and seven-minute-long pans and tracking shots of trees or rolling hills or people staring out windows; and, dramatic to the point of comic hysteria. (Yes, I'll admit I went on "the nod" a few times during the first hour ... until something finally happened to snap me out of it.) Andrei Tarkovsky ("The Sacrifice" comes to mind) and his patient cult of followers will love it. The film concerns a family of four as they head out of the city to the countryside for what appears to be a vacation. However, the desolate, eerily quiet landscape proves starkly real for couple Alex and Vera: The troubled duo actually have to talk to each other! (This takes an hour.) When they do, we find that Vera is pregnant, apparently with another man's child, and Alex ain't happy. Oh, and by the way, Alex and his brother, Mark (also staying at the house, which belonged to their dad), are in some sort of mafia ... I think. (I may have dozed at that point of explanation, but I can tell you they looked mean and hard and have guns and money!) Appearances are everything to Alex, so he orders his wife to have an old-fashioned country abortion at the country house. Let's just say the last hour isn't pleasant. I'm not quite sure what this all adds up to, except that life really sucks without communication. Oh, and I also learned this: If your brother is an existentialist who believes no action has consequences or meaning, do NOT take advice from him!

Life pretty much sucks in "Water Lilies," too, but it sucks in French and it starts sucking when you're 15 and especially if you are female. The film is made by first-time director Celine Sciamma, is playing in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section of the festival, and is a fairly effective little movie about how cruel young girls can be. Think of it as a French "Mean Girls" with a bit of lesbian action thrown in. (Hey, c'mon, it's French!) Instead of American cliques, however, "Water Lilies" revolves around the gossipy world of synchronized swimming. There, we follow our three protagonists: alluring, mature and popular Floriane; chubby and child-like Anne; and, Marie, Anne's skinny and awkward best friend who yearns to join the team. Through a string of bribes, Floriane lets Marie into the circle, but as the two get to know one another, stronger feelings emerge. Or do they? Is each one just an opportunist using the other? What makes "Water Lilies" effective is the metaphor of synchronized swimming, an act that requires girls to look and move like women and all look the same. Sciamma makes the argument that gender roles are strictly taught at an early age -- and that the girls learn them from each other (outside of a swim coach, there are no adults anywhere in the movie). Watching these souls, stuck somewhere in limbo between childhood and adulthood, barely treading water, is heartbreaking.

Finally, I should mention the shift in tone from Cannes 2006 to Cannes 2007. First off, it's even more of a mob scene this year. For example, folks were lined up four deep to see a 4 p.m. screening of a 150-minute-long Russian film in 75-degree, radiant weather. That was happening last year for high-profile movies with big-name stars, but not like this. And, speaking of high profile, it's become a common topic among patrons that Cannes 2007 has returned -- slightly -- to its "artsy" roots. Outside of "Ocean's Thirteen," which doesn't screen until next Tuesday, there isn't the Hollywood circus atmosphere that directly resulted from "Da Vinci Code" opening last year's festival, with "X-Men 3" acting as its centerpiece. In fact, Hollywood's two other biggest contributions to Cannes 2007, ironically, were already box-office flops in America: "Zodiac" (which premiered here last night), and "Death Proof," Tarantino's half of mega-bomb "Grindhouse." The shift has moved slightly from spectacle back to artistic merit (even the American entries this year read like European art-house fare). Cannes may be 60, but it's proving it's still very young and feisty at heart.

Monday: Full weekend coverage, including thoughts on the Coen Brothers' "No Country for Old Men," Michael Moore's "Sicko," Kim Ki-duk's "Soom," the sexually twisted "Import Export" and, fingers crossed, other terrific discoveries.

Dave McCoy is lead editor for MSN Movies. He'll file daily dispatches from Cannes through May 28.

Will you see any of these heavy films if they come to America? Write us at heymsn@microsoft.com

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