Director Cristian Mungiu Takes Us BEYOND THE HILLS In This Exclusive Featurette

It's funny the films I can get so enthusiastically, heck almost manically fanboy-ish about. Much of that kind of energy is reserved for the Spider-Mans and Batmans of the world, but for me it's usually something like... well, Cristian Mungiu's Beyond The Hills. The kicker is that I can get so behind such a picture and want to talk about it with everyone, but must do so in broad terms so as not to ruin the experience for those that have yet to see it.

As it were (broadly speaking), Beyond The Hills is every bit as mesmerizing and potent in emotion and form as Mungiu's Palme D'Or winning 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days. It's a film that hones in on a myriad of social issues and the dynamics within different groups, both secular and religious. It's a powerful story on the nature of love and perception, of what is good and what is evil. Beyond The Hills does not give easy answers and it does not point fingers. It's a conversation starter for sure and one heck of a nail-biter. If you must read a review I suppose it's best to direct you to Dustin Chang's take, but I'm more inclined to say go in as cold as you can. Having said that, please take a look at Mungiu's own take on the film in an exclusive featurette below. No worries here; directors know how to entice while leaving the mysteries and wonders of their films purely to the silver screen.   

Beyond The Hills hits VOD services across the U.S. today and expands theatrically this Friday to the following cities: Washington D.C. (Bethesda), Chicago, San Francisco, Berkley, Montclair, NJ, White Plains, Pleasantville and Manhasset, NY, San Diego (La Jolla) as well as the greater Los Angeles area.