In theaters

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, written and directed by Cristian Mungiu, 113 minutes, not rated. In Romanian with English subtitles.

Cristian Mungiu’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” winner of last year’s Palme d’Or, is set in 1987 Romania toward the end of Nicolae Ceausescu’s tyrannical rule.

The time in which the film is set is significant for several reasons, chiefly that it was Ceausescu, long before his Christmas Day execution in 1989, who reversed Romania’s stand on abortion, thus making the procedure illegal and punishable (with few exceptions) whereas beforehand, women had the right to choose.

Ceausescu criminalized abortion upon his ascension to power in 1966. Twenty-one years later in 1987, his corrupt dictatorship had turned Romania into a country of chaos, poverty and turmoil, so much so that Romania became a country of outlaws forced to turn to the black market to have their needs met. There, cigarettes were a popular choice. So was finding someone who would perform an abortion.

It’s in this atmosphere of fear and risk that “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” takes place. The movie opens in a crowded college dormitory with roommates Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) and Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) packing their bags for some time away. On the sly, they buy cigarettes and toiletries. Though the film’s title is a giveaway, it’s only gradually that we learn they’re preparing for Gabita’s abortion.

Turns out she’s lucky to have Otilia for a friend. Whereas Gabita is flighty and unfocused, Otilia is a force, balancing in one harrowing day Gabita’s sketchy abortion and the birthday party being thrown for her boyfriend’s mother across town. The abortion comes first, though it nearly doesn’t go off because Gabita failed to secure a room at the hotel chosen by Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov), the gruff man they hired to perform the abortion.

While Bebe’s surname proves that Mungiu isn’t without a dark sense of humor, that’s where the humor ends. Bebe is a brute who uses his power over the situation to his benefit. He does so in ways that turn this drama into part tragedy and part thriller, particularly when he learns that Gabita lied to him about how far along she is in her pregnancy. There’s a price to be paid for that lie – aborting a fetus this late in its term could, after all, cost him 10 years in prison if he were caught. And so Bebe becomes determined to exact a higher payment from each woman, though through means that have nothing to do with money.

Throughout this tense, superbly crafted movie, it’s as if a camera is nowhere near the actors – their performances are that good, that natural. Helping to that end is the dialogue, which seems unscripted. Every corner of this movie speaks to authenticity, such as the terrific scene in which Otilia, her face a mask of concern, is sandwiched among her boyfriend’s chatty family when all she wants to do is to be with Gabita, who very well could be bleeding to death back at their hotel room. The scene in which Otilia rushes back to the hotel through the city’s dark streets is the film at its unnerving best.

So far, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” joins “Persepolis” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” in being among last year’s best foreign language films.

Grade: A

On DVD and Blu-ray

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION, directed by Russell Mulcahy, written by Paul W.S. Anderson, 95 minutes, rated R.

In Russell Mulcahy’s “Resident Evil: Extinction,” one scene is effective. You were expecting more than one? Wrong movie.

The scene involves crows – tens of thousands of undead, squawking zombie crows – and when it starts to dig in for the grisly long haul, just try not to sit up and take note.

The scene is a rip-off of Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” and while it has none of Hitchcock’s wit, it does have energy, not to mention some well-done special effects. Since everything leading up to this moment is strictly standard fare, the intensity the scene offers is refreshing even if the scene itself isn’t exactly fresh.

The film follows the previous two movies in the “Evil” series in that it’s a convoluted scattershot of hyper editing best served for fans of the franchise or for junkies of the computer game on which the movies are based. Or both.

Given the sheer number of zombies “Extinction” unleashes, most of whom are here only to be gutted, it obviously also will appeal to fans of the splatter gore genre. But for those who enjoy their horror movies with a trace of a story and maybe even a measure of dialogue to round out the chills and boost character development, well, they might seriously be left wanting.

Once again, Milla Jovovich takes the lead as Alice, who returns with her poreless skin and vicious death moves to take on the Umbrella Corp. in yet another effort to shut them down. Some will remember that the Umbrella Corp. is responsible for creating the virus that now has taken over the world, laying waste to most of its inhabitants (save for the few stragglers Alice meets in her journey across the Nevada desert), who now roam the Earth in various stages of death and decay. What Umbrella’s evil kingpin, Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen), wants from Alice is her blood and her DNA to do all sorts of bad things, none of which is worth exploring here.

What matters in “Extinction” are the zombies, their hunger for flesh, and Alice’s attempts to bring them and the Umbrella Corp. down. This isn’t a terrible movie, but certainly you sense at this point, with the series having run out of ideas, that it’s facing is own extinction.

Grade: C-

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle, as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.

New to DVD

Renting a DVD? BDN film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases. Those in bold print are new to stores this week.

Akeelah and the Bee – B+

The Aviator: HD DVD, Blu-ray – A

Black Book – B+

The Bourne Ultimatum – B+

Breach – B+

Bridge to Terabithia – B+

Con Air: Blu-ray – C+

Death Proof – B+

Deja Vu – C+

The Departed – A

Dragon Wars: DVD, Blu-ray – D+

Eastern Promises – A-

Evening – C+

Face/Off: HD DVD – D

Fail Safe – A-

Good Luck Chuck – D

Hairspray – A-

Halloween (2007) – D

Happy Feet – A-

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – C+

The Heartbreak Kid – C+

The Illusionist – B+

Invincible – B

Inside Man – B+

The Invisible – C-

Live Free or Die Hard – B-

A Might Heart – A-

Mr. Woodcock: DVD, Blu-ray – C-

The Nanny Diaries – D+

Ratatouille – A

The Reaping – D

Reign Over Me – C-

Resident Evil: Extinction – C-

Rocky Balboa – B+

Rush Hour 3 – D

The Simpsons Movie – B+