Cosmina Stratan

In Cristian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills (2012), Cosmina Stratan makes us attend to Voichita even when Alina is doing the demanding. Cristina Flutur gives Alina's need for affection a force that might easily overwhelm the quieter performance beside her. Stratan gives Voichita enough feeling to make her more than someone who stands in Alina's way. We found the relationship painful to watch because Alina's insistence on being loved leaves Voichita so little room for her own wishes.

Voichita was her first major film role, and her subsequent work has moved between European co-productions and English-language horror. Shelley (2016) took her into international horror, followed by No One Gets Out Alive (2021). Her appearance in Arnaud Desplechin's Brother and Sister (2022) sits alongside those genre parts. The change of genre is interesting, but the clearest reason we have to recommend her remains the work with Mungiu.

Stratan's preparation for Voichita was practical. She worked on the walk while layers of clothing restricted her normal body language, a useful reminder that restraint can begin with how an actor moves. Her wider habit of building roles through posture and small physical details makes sense beside this performance. Mungiu's long takes and limited explanation give her time to sustain feelings that the character does not readily put into words. We keep watching for what Voichita wants, rather than waiting to be told which belief she represents.

Stratan's restraint cannot solve every problem around her. Beyond the Hills repeats itself in its middle section, despite the two performances holding our attention. But she and Flutur keep bringing us back to particular women when the discussion of faith risks reducing them to examples. It matters that we can feel the pressure Alina puts on Voichita while still caring about both of them. Start here, provided a patient, painful monastery drama sounds like an evening well spent.