Moartea domnului Lăzărescu
Directed by:
Cristi PuiuCast:
Ion Fiscuteanu, Doru Ana, Clara Voda, Dragoș Bucur, Bogdan Dumitrache, Luminița Gheorghiu, Alexandru Potocean, Serban Pavlu, Florin Zamfirescu, Mihai Bratila (more)Plots(1)
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu explores the dire consequences of an ailing medical system in Romania and the one man who bears the brunt of it all. Mr Lazarescu is a 63-year-old widower who shares his apartment with his three cats and who drinks to excess on a regular basis affecting his health. Suffering from pains in his head and his stomach, he calls for an ambulance to take him to the local hospital. Hindered by a major bus accident the medics eventually arrive and so begins a long and increasingly frustrating night. Shuffled from pillar to post, he becomes wearier and weaker in the face of the medical profession’s bureaucracy and casual inefficiency. A succession of colourful characters permeates the film and the combination of dry humour and ‘scapel sharp’ satire make this one of the year’s most deeply affecting films. (Accent Film Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (1)
Of the Romanian New Wave films that I have had the honor of seeing so far, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu impressed me the most and it is a film that I would like to revisit. It is a highly unsettling drama that gives the impression of a documentary, simply human dying in real-time caused by human indifference, bureaucracy, cowardice, and professional self-absorption. It strongly reminds me of the techniques used by Italian neorealists in the 1950s. Mr. Lazarescu, with his rapidly deteriorating health condition, travels from one doctor to another and they, shielded by regulations and objective obstacles, toss him around like a potato. However, it is not quite perfect due to the uncomfortable feeling that the film evokes. Overall impression: 85%.
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Photo © Mandragora Movies
