****Winner of the Palme d’Or, this is the latest acclaimed film from the burgeoning Romanian film industry. The second feature from director Christian Mungui, it tells the story of a student in 1987 communist Romania seeking an illegal abortion. The pregnant Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) is aided by her roommate Ollita (Anamaria Marinca). As they try to avoid the prying eyes of the state and a prison sentence they seek the help of Mr. Bebe who is to perform the operation.
The defining feature of this film is its sometimes shocking realism. The camera does not shy away from the details and this is vital to its ultimate success. By denying the preservation of his characters’ dignity, Mungui creates an effect of reality that immediately grips the viewer, aided by the conspicuous absence of music. He makes the most of a low budget with inventive use of the camera. The action switches between long stationary takes, often forcing the viewer to follow the characters from afar, to fast-moving handheld shots, many at night, which make the action difficult to follow but help to create a tense atmosphere. There is also good use of subtle tools such as background movement, light and shadow that keep one’s eyes glued to the screen, even through long periods of no dialogue.
The standout of this film, however, is the wonderful performance from Marinca as its resourceful heroine. There are very few moments when she is not on screen as the story is told from Ollita’s perspective, a wise choice by Mungui that results in riveting tension and fully utilises Marinca’s undoubted talent. Often she is alone and there is reliance only on her facial expression and body language to carry the shot, but she is a magnet for the camera. Vasiliu provides excellent support as the timid Gabita; indeed the performances are good all round.
Occasionally Mungui tries too hard to demonstrate the difficulties of living under the communist regime: a scene at the dinner table of a party which hurriedly covers most of the faults in Romanian sociey feels a little too blunt. But ultimately the film is a great achievment; captivating yet grounded in realism throughout. by Ben Williams 

With the first of four tries after only three minutes, two drop goals and a nail-bitingly close finish, the 126th Varsity Match was a highly entertaining game which, right until the final whistle, could have gone either way. In the end it was the resilience of the Light Blue forwards and staunch defending that gave Cambridge the edge, seeing them bash through to their 60th Varsity win. Just seconds after kick-off, Cambridge turned the ball over and a sharp offload from the tackle allowed them to gain momentum. When the Oxford winger Tom Tombleson was bundled into touch after gathering a kick, a 5m lineout put the Light Blues in a very strong attacking position with only 3 minutes on the clock. As had been predicted, the Cambridge pack kept it tight with a fierce drive for the line and Jon Dawson, former Harlequins and Wasps hooker, grounded the ball. A good strike from the Cambridge fly-half fell just short of the cross-bar. With a 5-point deficit after just 3 minutes, pre-match favourites Oxford would have to strike back fast to gain some momentum after conceding a soft try. When a great incisive run by their winger soon brought Cambridge up into Oxford’s half again, Oxford managed to settle themselves and turned the ball over. But a penalty against Oxford for offside allowed the Tabs to put 3 more points on the board. After the Dark Blues won a lineout, it was their captain, former Wallaby Joe Roff, who brought his team off the back foot in this, his last ever competitive game. Some silky running into the opposition’s 22m gave the Oxford forwards a chance to finally made their mark, grinding away to push closer to the line. The ball came out to McMahon in the pocket, who slotted a drop goal coolly between the posts to bring the Oxonians back into the game.The three points gave the Dark Blues the lift they needed, and after Cambridge’s Murray kicked the ball out on the full, Oxford demonstrated a solid attacking lineout. The ball was handled well through the backs and McMahon put Boto in space on a previously unexploited blindside. Cutting inside towards the line and stepping a missed interception by Cambridge’s Broadfoot, Boto offloaded to Chris Mahony who rolled with the tackle over the try line to sink the ball into the turf. McMahon’s conversion took Oxford into the lead 10-8 with ten minutes remaining in the first half. Unfortunately, Mahoney’s run also resulted in an ankle injury so Gregory came on at centre and Roff moved back to 15, a change that would have a significant impact on the game. Just minutes after Oxford’s first foray on the try line, Roff cut a line past Tombleson on the inside with space enough to see Dark Blue spectators jump to their feet in anticipation. However, fumbling the ball in what was surely a try-scoring opportunity, the half-time whistle blew with the score still at 10-8 to Oxford. After the break, Cowie and Davis replaced Rosen and Allusen in the front row. More kicking began the second half, with the ball flying back and forth as it had in the early stages of the match. Once again taking control, Roff tried an up-andunder which resulted in a penalty for Oxford. McMahon stepped up to the occasion to seal the three points, taking the score to 13-8. When an injury to Cambridge’s flyhalf forced a reorganisation in the Light Blue backs, Oxford seemed to have the run of play, with solid work from the pack keeping the momentum moving forward. Re-playing a tactic that had worked in the first half, McMahon dropped a second goal (the third player to do so in the history of the Varsity match) and propelled his team to an 8-point lead. Matthews then replaced Lutton to complete a new front row for the Dark Blues. Penalised for being off their feet, with 20 minutes left Oxford found themselves once more defending a 5m lineout. Like an action replay of the beginning of the match, the Cambridge forwards proved their strength, remaining on their feet to charge over the line. A successful conversion meant that the rivals were one point apart, and a bout of tussling after the whistle made the tension palpable. Reinvigorated by the score, Cambridge continued to use the strength of the rolling maul and made fast yards. After an impressive passage of play the ball was passed through the backs until a change of direction when the number 8 charged through Oxford’s defence to ground the ball once more. Duly converted, Oxford would need to respond quickly, with Cambridge in the lead 23-15 and the clock running down. Having had difficulty making a mark on the game since his move to full-back, Roff found himself knocked to the ground after a kick in an overzealous late tackle by his opposite number. Referee Tony Spreadbury awarded Oxford a penalty from where the ball landed, and it was the Dark Blues’ turn to attack the 5m lineout. However, there was miscommunication and messy ball, and unlike the Light Blue forwards, Oxford did not stay on their feet. The last five minutes of the match were played in the Cambridge half, tantalisingly close to the line, but Cambridge’s defence sessions with Wasps coach Saun Edwards seemed to have paid off. In their very last campaign for victory, with 50 seconds on the clock and the ball a metre from the line, the Oxford forwards bashed through player after player with dogged determination, fighting for inches. When the ball came out into the backs, players were lining up in space to score, but with no margin for error this was not Oxford’s day. The pass did not link up; the stadium erupted into a multitude of Light Blue cheers. Despite a significantly more successful season than their rivals, a captain with a World Cup win under his belt, and an 8-point lead after 50 minutes, for the third successive year Varsity victory has eluded the Oxford Blues. After the match the Oxford players were ready to commend Cambridge’s defensive effort in the final minutes of the game, which was by all accounts, outstanding. That the match was so close will surely be no consolation for the players, but for those watching it was testament to the prestige and competitive spirit of this unique fixture.by Stephanie Hardwick

Cuts in government funding could mean some Oxford students will face tuition fees of up to £7,000.Oxford University is expected to lose £4.1 million if plans go ahead to reduce state support for second degrees and lower level, shorter courses by £100 million. Oxford, and other institutions such as UCL and the Open University, say this will leave them with no alternative but to increase fees.The government proposal has been criticised in Westminster. More than 200 MPs, including 86 from Labour, have signed a motion against the reallocation of government funding. The intention is to provide an extra 20, 000 places for undergraduates.Bill Rammell, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education explained, “We are redirecting £100 million over three years from funding students studying for second degrees to support even more getting a first degree. And with 70% of the adult workforce without a first degree, this has to be the right priority.”Lesley Simms, Head of Planning and Resource Allocation for Oxford University, said, “We calculate that we have the equivalent of about 975 full-time equivalent students who are studying equivalent or lower level qualifications and are not exempt from this proposal.”Philip Healy, the Director of Public Programmes for Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education, commented, “It is really very damaging… It will inevitably mean that students who already have a qualification that is equivalent or higher than the new one will have to pay higher fees.”However Healy accepted that “[Tuition fees] are a market –driven thing so there is a limit to how much the market can bear so we will obviously have to make other adjustments. It may mean savings also.”He added, “There is an inconsistency. On the one hand the government is urging people to undertake lifelong learning but this policy is going to have an adverse effect on certain groups who do this. People who already have a degree, who are well educated, but want to change direction or need to improve their skills will not necessarily be doing these courses at a higher level. So they are now being told that their employer should pay or they themselves will have to pay… The future is pretty grim if it goes forward.”Any increase in fees will depend on the outcome of a Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) proposal to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee. Under the HEFCE proposal, some university courses would be exempt from the change in policy. These would include medicine and teaching training as well as ‘vulnerable’ or ‘minority’ subjects that are nationally under-subscribed.Oxford University will also submit written evidence to the Select Committee inquiry. The Department for Continuing Education and the Theology Faculty are likely to suffer most from the changes.Oxford’s Physics Department is also looking particularly vulnerable, as it could lose 25% of its grant for particle physics and astronomy. This is a result of planned £80 million government cuts to the Science and Technology Facilities Council budget, which distributes state funding for scientific research.Professor Philip Burrows said, “If you find particle physics or astronomy exciting and motivating subjects, you might think twice about doing a physics degree if you hear that the UK is cutting back on its funding in those areas.“Since the Government has recognised the importance of a healthy supply of physicists to underpin the UK science base and the economy, the proposed STFC cuts in physics seem baffling.”
by Rob Pomfret

Allegations fly at Frewin Court as Omkar is disqualified and Fischer resigns

The Oxford Union is currently without a President-Elect after Krishna Omkar’s win was overturned and he was banned from running again.

The Society descended into crisis after a tribunal held during the vacation found Omkar guilty of soliciting votes for himself and other candidates in the run up to Michaelmas elections – a practice prohibited by the debating society’s rules.

A re-poll for the position of President is scheduled for second week. To be eligible, candidates must have made the required number of qualifying speeches last term and not have stood in an election for a lower office last term.

Charlotte Fischer, one of only two people eligble to run in the re-poll, resigned from Standing Committee on Monday. In a long letter to Committee members she said she felt she had been the victim of “false rumours” and “personal attacks” but was resigning her position with “a heavy heart.” Claire Hennessey, who was Secretary in Michaelmas, is also eligble to run, but has suggested that she may not stand for election.

If no valid nominations are received for this term’s re-poll, it is expected that the Librarian – currently Edward Waldegrave – will assume the role of President in Trinity Term.

Everyone in the Union hierarchy of officers would then move up one position, subject to their agreement. Omkar’s electoral tribunal was brought against him by Presidential rival Fischer at the end of last term, and centred around a meeting held by Omkar in Magdalen College on the evening before elections.

The tribunal report deemed the gathering, which was attended by 20 to 30 people, including several candidates in the following day’s election, to be a deliberate attempt “to encourage all attendees to solicit votes from members of the Society the following day for those identified at the meeting.” Among those candidates at the meeting were the then Union President Luke Tryl, Charlie Holt, who was elected Secretary unopposed, and Corey Dixon, who was elected Treasurer.

Whilst union rules are vague as to precisely what is permissible with regards to gathering votes, the tribunal made it clear that the soliciting of votes from anyone other than close personal friends is not allowed.

In their official report the panel stated, “We simply reject the Defendant’s assertion that his meeting was a meeting between close personal friends, or that it was a meeting to have the sort of discussion which might be had between close personal friends.”

Omkar was also criticised for sending out an email which contained the names of Union members in Merton College.

The panel decided that it was used to approach people and systematically solicit votes. In an unprecedented move the tribunal also disqualified Omkar from standing in all future Union elections. Omkar strongly denied any suggestion that he had acted improperly by holding a drinks party on the night before last term’s election.

The 5000- word official report released after the tribunal criticises Omkar for “lack of integrity” and “arrogance as he appeared before us.” Omkar appealed the decision, but a second panel that met on Saturday December 15 upheld the tribunal’s findings in full, although they did consult the original prosecuting panel about the severity of the sentence.

Omkar argued before both panels that he was simply being penalised for what was accepted common practice in the Union.

The Union’s Returning Officer received a signed confession from Union debater Jessica Lund stating that she sent a text message to seven people that read, “Please, please, for a more open, democratic Union, vote Charlotte Fischer for President. You won’t regret it, and it will make me very happy. Thank you. Xxx”. Fischer denies asking anybody to send a message on her behalf, and there is no evidence linking Fischer to Lund’s actions.

Fischer depicts uglier side of Union in farewell letter

In a 3000-word resignation letter to Standing Committee written on Monday night, Fischer accused Krishna Omkar and other members of spreading “his own distorted projection of who I am.”

She also alleges that she was repeatedly sexually harassed by committee members. In one part of the letter, she wrote:

“It has become more difficult to be involved in the Union more recently because of the actions of some of the members of Standing Committee. Most recently I have continued to receive text and Facebook messages from several members of the standing committee asking if I “fancy a fuck?” When I called the member whose phone the original messages were sent from, I received no answer, only further messages asking me if “that was an offer of phone sex gorgeous?”… In the context of the ongoing controversy and conflict I have with many of the members of Standing Committee I feel it was insensitive at best and outrageously obnoxious at worst.”

A source on Standing committee said he felt the comments had been taken out of context. In a response to Fischer’s letter Omkar said, “I have no desire to launch personal attacks against any individual through the medium of the press… With full respect to the tribunal, the decision of which remains unimpeached, last term’s election returned an unprecedented and overwhelming democratic mandate, of which I am mindful and for which I will always remain grateful.

Hundreds of spectators turned up to watch the Oxford men and women’s blues teams ski to victory at this year’s races, held on the Varsity Trip in Val Thorens, France. Vin chaud and hot dogs kept the crowds warm as a DJ pumped music onto the slopes and the Oxford and Cambridge ski teams slalomed their way down the flood lit course, finishing through an enormous Varsity Trip inflatable arch to the cheers of their supporters. The Giant Slalom races were held during the day in terrible conditions. With a snow storm, strong wind and a badly cut up course, it was not a surprise that the Olympic race piste, which was one of the longest and most challenging in Varsity history, took its share of victims. The money was on the Oxford men’s blues team (Adrien Geiger (capt), Freddie Clough, George Hamer, Freddie Athill, Phil Senior, Laurence Whyatt) to hold on to the cup, however ex Great Britain team member Freddie Clough and highly ranked BUSC racer Phil Senior were quickly sent crashing out of the course and into the side netting. Four out of six team members must complete the course to avoid a heavy time penalty, so with the first and third seeds down, the remaining four skiers put up a brave fight and played it safe to stay in the game, however the Oxford blues were far behind Cambridge, with 12.61 seconds to make up in the Slalom races. Meanwhile the top four Oxford women blues finished well and were close on the heels of an exceptionally strong Cambridge side. The Slalom races started in the evening, along with the crowds and entertainment. All racers were keen to impress, and above all, the Oxford Blues men, who knew they had to make up vital seconds. This time all six team members made it down with exceptional times. After a tense wait and a nerve wracking announcement, whereby Oxford… no… Cambridge… no… Oxford were finally declared the overall Winners by just 0.92s. The Oxford Women’s Blues team also managed to shave off enough seconds, beating Cambridge equivalents in exciting races. The Oxford Men’s second team were less fortunate and lost to their counterparts due Christian Reinecke’s controversial disqualification, who finished the course with a superb time but on only one ski, which breaks international FIS regulations. The men’s third team and women’s second team won by impressive margins. The Varsity Trip 07 was the biggest and most successful in history, with 1700 Oxbridge students descending on Val Thorens, one of the highest resorts in the French Alps, for two weeks of racing, freestyle events, and debauched behaviour.by Frederick Athill

 ****The amorality of a businessman driven by greed; his brother weak, without the moral courage to say no. Thoughtlessness, operating in a moral vacuum; power and irresponsibility. The sight of a suited businessman wielding a gun, perhaps the most terrifying and ruthless spectacle. This is a believable and realistic film, despite the director’s description of it as ‘melodrama’.
The normality evident in the first half is no veneer: it is only the drastic events later on which separate the brothers from anyone else. Albert Finney excels as the father and a powerful family dynamic emerges, exposing long held resentments, disappointments and betrayals. They are all despicable characters once their lives start to unravel, indeed Hank (Ethan Hawke) tries to make a stand so late on that the Rubicon is barely visible. There are some excellent moments, such as the skag head who reminds Phillip Seymour Hoffman (exquisite acting) of himself. The latter bullies his younger brother into the ploy with the words “It’s too late to think”.
Hawke portrays to a tee the pathetic, bungling fool that he has been typecast as by his family. Ultimately we raise questions about the parenting of these screwed up adults. Finney apologises and, despite his grief, his actions at the end are based on pure hate. The daughter appears to have turned into a Christian nut. But if all the characters are despicable, what can we draw from the film? A warning? They lose their perspective and give way to base bestial instincts almost; Hank’s instinct is always to run.
The story is told in fragments with the robbery occurring at the start and the build up shown afterwards, spliced up before the denouement. Suspense is certainly not lacking in the first half; it becomes like watching an awful train wreck. “The world is an evil place. Some people realise that and get rich, others are destroyed”, a grim analysis which seems bleakly accurate in the world Lumet presents. This is a worthy addition to the work of a legendary director. It could hardly rival the enclosed drama of 12 Angry Men or the peculiar beauty of Dog Day Afternoon, but the same passion for exploring behaviour remains and bears witness to a very American and sadly common phenomenon.by Hilary Aked 

A Jesus student was hospitalized and left badly scarred after a near-fatal accident on the college ski trip. On the first night of a college trip to Tignes in the French Alps 20 yearold Ed Bloch hit a snow drift, lost a ski, fell and impaled himself on the end of one of his poles. The accident took place in appalling weather conditions with poor visibility and a dangerously bumpy piste. Second-year medical student Bloch said, “It felt like a painful winding at first, so I got up and we skied to the village. I just thought I would sit a couple out to get my breath back. As I got down to the village it got quite hard to breath and pretty painful, so I asked for directions for the medical centre, by which time I was very pale and worse for wear, so we called an ambulance.” Bloch was rushed to a nearby hospital where an ultrasound scan revealed he had ruptured his spleen six times and bled three litres of blood into his abdominal cavity. “I started going into hypovolaemic shock and was short of breath, so they had to operate on me straight away in the very small hospital, “he said. “Doctors told me I was lucky to be alive.” He woke up with a six inch scar across his stomach. Unable to leave hospital until several days after the rest of the college team had gone home, he lost two and a half stone in the course of his nil-by-mouth recovery. He has been warned against contact sports for a further two months and will need to take regular antibiotics for a minimum of three years. Close friend Piers Lemoine visited Bloch several times in hospital at Bourgs Saint-Maurice. “The hospital was a bit rubbish, but Ed had a lot of visitors,” he said. He added, “He was very thin and seemed pretty bored at times, but I thought he kept in remarkably high spirits.”

Astonishing judges and spectators alike, the Oxford Sirens cheerleaders took 2nd place in their division at the Future Cheer Winter Wonderland competition in London on Sunday 2 December. Beaten only by the Scottish Bluebells and led by coach Brid Cronin and captain Jennifer Loh, the Sirens wowed the competition by performing a heart-pumping routine that included difficult aerial stunts, sky-high jumps, and challenging gymnastics. Co-captains of choreography, Hannah Whittell and Cally Humphrey, spiced up the routine with their headturning dance moves that energized everyone from the judges to the spectators. Whilst roughly half of the 2007-08 Sirens team has never done cheerleading before, Loh says of her squad, “I am immensely proud to be captain this year of such a hard-working and dedicated team. My fellow Sirens continue to amaze me in their abilities to master complex cheerleading maneuvers, especially when so many of them are coming at the sport for the first time.” The ‘finished product’ of competitive cheerleading is a 2-½ minute routine set to rousing music and performed in front of a wild crowd. Many Sirens say the experience of being on that special blue gymnastics mat at competition is a whirlwind that rushes by in the blink of an eye. But the work that goes into preparing for that 2-½ minutes is anything but ephemeral. Practicing three or four times a week, the Sirens put a hefty amount of effort into their sport. The intensity of training increases significantly in the days approaching a competition, but Loh is convinced this pays dividends: “cheerleading is about being positive and being part of a team.” And indeed being positive is something the Sirens – like all great cheerleading squads – have learned to master. Meet a Siren on the streets of Oxford and he or she is likely to greet you warmly and ask how your day is going – the sort of social custom it would be nice to see more people adopt. Fortunately, Oxford will soon be seeing more shining Sirens faces around campus, as the squad is actively recruiting new members to join its trophy-winning ranks. With a massive recruitment event set for this Sunday 13 January (4:30 – 6:30 PM, Iffley Road Sports Centre), the Sirens are hoping to add more athletes of both sexes and all levels of experience to their roster. The team looks forward to entering three major competitions next term, and the more Sirens, the better. Whilst cheerleading is still fairly small in the UK, it is undeniably expanding as a serious sporting activity for everyone from children to university-level athletes.by Justine Ramsden

*** This piece of new writing comes from the pen of director Helen McCabe. It’s a thoughtful piece of drama about the relationship between John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor, which was complicated by the fact that Harriet was married. Mill, Harriet and her husband John are all acted with sensitivity and the dynamics in this love triangle are well portrayed.It is hard to reawaken characters like John Stuart Mill, known for his long debates transcribed onto dusty pages. His legacy in liberalism and feminism also make him notorious. In writing this play, Mc- Cabe has done well in conjuring up the ghosts of real and interesting figures, although one feels she is limited by a (commendable) desire to stick to what history tells us really happened, instead of taking risks with the past.The play relies excessively on poetry and debate; there is not enough drama. The arguments that feature heavily about the position of married women are no longer relevant to modern society. This kind of debate, name-dropping of contemporary political characters, and poetry read aloud weighs down the play and sometimes makes it slow-paced. Despite its thoughtful script and excellent acting, the questions asked in the play are not hard-hitting or relevant enough for a modern audience, and the play feels heavy as a result.By Elen Griffiths

What do you mean you didn’t know that Tom Hanks singled-handedly ended the Cold War? This strange black comedy focuses on the covert machinations of the US government in the Soviet-Afghan war of the ‘80s, which seem absurd enough to be unbelievable, but we are assured are almost entirely true. The film begins with a military ceremony honouring Congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks) for bringing down Communism – a more traditional conflict for American war movies. The music swells, the crowd cheer, and it seems possible that this is going to be another of those Captain America war films which the US seems to be mass producing. We leave our expectations behind, however, in the next scene, where we start at the beginning in 1980. We find this same congressman learning of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on a TV broadcast, whilst at a Las Vegas hot-tub party surrounded by strippers and lines of cocaine. This Texan lothario, whose greatest achievement in his six terms as a congressman, as it is commented later, ‘is being re-elected five times’ is prodded into action by born-again socialite and Charlie’s sometime lover Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) and grumpy CIA operative Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Charlie’s initial sympathy for the plight of the Afghans transforms into a decade of struggle to increase the US budget for covertly arming the Afghan Mujahedeen. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, wellversed in political satire from the acclaimed TV series The West Wing, brings his typical high-brow, rapidfire dialogue and humour to even the most intense moments. A terse conversation between Charlie and President Zia of Pakistan for instance, becomes bafflingly funny. The film reconciles the poignant and the humorous, and creates an incisive, entertaining black comedy. The same cannot be said of the character of Charlie Wilson, whose party-hard bravado is never quite resolved with the great man he somehow becomes. Hanks relaxes into the role enough to make him likeable, at least. However, there’s little chemistry between Hanks and Roberts, who is also plausible, if too brittle and entirely overshadowed by her blonde, gravity-defying bouffant. It is Hoffman who shines, with his disgruntled frustration and sarcasm, perfect for Sorkin’s style. While the victory seems clear cut, what is curiously not specifically mentioned is that the Afghan freedom fighters the US financed became the core of Al-Qaeda, a bitter irony which one would expect the filmmakers to exploit. As Charlie puts it, ‘we fucked up the endgame.’ While some might say the same about the ending of Charlie Wilson’s War, the saving graces are the subtle, yet emotive hints at the fate which America had in store, and may suffer again if lessons aren’t learnt. by Laura Williams