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73 out of 81 people found the following comment useful :-
A Hellish Ride, 23 September 2005
Author: FcPoliFan from Timisoara, Romania

Mr. Lazarescu: nearing 63, lives alone with his three cats, underwent surgery due to ulcer, has a sister still living in Romania and a daughter who left (it seems) unannounced and moved to Canada. This is the man: old, alone and ill. A terrible fate.

Puiu's movie, inspired from true events (some years ago, a man has been transported from one hospital to the other with a most tragic consequence) follows its protagonist through the final stages of his life: feeling ill, Lazarescu calls for an ambulance and awaits its (delayed) arrival drinking and giving telephones. As the hands of the clock turn and the ambulance is nowhere to be heard or seen, the old man goes next door, trying to get some help from the neighbors: a stereotype of their kind. Once the ambulance finally arrives, Lazarescu embarks on a most dreadful road trip, from hospital to hospital, in an elaborate attempt to diagnose and operate him. The story begins.

It would be unfair not to acknowledge the film's authenticity from the beginning. Truly segmented - as the director himself affirmed, regarding "Lazarescu" as the first in six stories about the Romanian capital - in several (short) "stories of Bucharest", we meet most intriguing characters and situations, each of them highly rewarding on different levels. Good doctors, bad doctors, grumpy doctors, snobbish doctors, pitiful doctors - all the guys and girls our great medical system can offer. Still, some continue to resemble human beings, which - to a certain degree - is quite an achievement.

The bad light Puiu sheds on them may be diminished by the fact that the night Lazarescu chose to fall ill was most unfortunate: a terrible car accident filled most of the hospitals so that it was extremely difficult to find a place for an old, drunk man who was automatically labeled as a drinker and treated as such. Few characters in the film show authentic sympathy for Lazarescu, as most of them just want to get on with the job and do themselves a greater good. There is no such concept of readiness to help a fellow man struggling between life and death: commodity reigns. Unlike Lazarus, our main character will most probably not rise from the dead. And the people who still stand and didn't give their everything are up to their throats in guilt.

But this is the terrible, depressing half of the story. A most regretful reality. Cristi Puiu's and Razvan Radulescu's (a bit overlong) script is at times filled with moments of sheer irony, sarcasm and cynicism, all worth their laughs. Some of these moments are brilliant. Lazarescu is witty and gutsy, as long as he can talk. He is a man who - despite what others think - wants to stand up for himself and would rather not let anyone treat him like scum. Sadly, though, all is part of a gigantic vicious circle: doctors remain people and patients are not at all different. Flawed. Yet, there is a question of humanity and dignity involved. A choice between what is right and what is easy, as the saying goes.

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72 out of 80 people found the following comment useful :-
Kafka and Mr. Lazarescu, 29 September 2005

Author: flasuss from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Winner of the Un Certain Regard in Cannes, is like a version of "E.R" truly realistic, with the good, bad, indifferent, attentive, humble, arrogant, and, above all, human doctors. The title-character is far from being a hero, but that makes it easier to sympathize with him, which is essential here: we really feel like we were Lazarescus, going from hospital to hospital waiting for the help, never being treated properly, and the situation getting worse and worse as times goes by. Puiu's creates a documentary-like atmosphere to an almost Kafka-like situation, and fills the movie with dark humor and moments which can be shocking, but are never there just for that purpose. The entire cast delivers solid performances, specially Fiscuteanu as the remarkable Lazarescu Dante Remus and Luminita Gheorghiu as the paramedic. Reminded me of Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man" (one of his best and certainly the most overlooked), another documentary-like film about a man in a absurd, but also realistic, situation in a system that doesn't care about him. One of the best pictures of 2005.

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59 out of 67 people found the following comment useful :-
We all bite the dust one day, some of us sooner than others..., 30 September 2005

Author: nervozix from Romania

Life sucks. Two words that can very easily define the content of this movie. If you take a look at your average American production about hospitals/emergency shifts, you'll undoubtedly see "Chicago Hope" type of docs and nurses running around hallways with patients on stretchers, shouting at each other desperately, saying stuff like "This guy needs O2 fast!", "Morphine NOW!!!", "OMG! We're losing him, shockers ASAP!". All of them doing they're best to save the life of the poor bastard that rests in their hands. Well you won't get any of that in this picture. All you'll get here is a cold glass of reality.

"Moartea domnului Lazarescu" - roughly translated into "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" is the content of the above-mentioned glass. This tragicomic story takes place in a little place I like (usually dislike) to call home, Romania-Bucharest. Don't worry, no spoilers here(although the title itself could be considered one). The movie depicts the way a misfortunate elderly citizen get's carried away from hospital to hospital in order to find relief for his condition. I won't go too much in the story, because it's really worth seeing it for yourself. Now of course if you are lacking the skill to speak Romanian(and you most probably are), or if you aren't used with subtitles, this movie might be a little hard to chew. But if you can jump this minor obstacle, you're in for an interesting movie.

The action takes place at a slow and calm pace, too calm and too slow for the old man and his health issues. Wherever he is taken by the two ambulance medics he seems to be mistreated/patronized by doctors and nurses. This is not the only conflict in the movie. The film tries to show you the unpleasant attitude between various medical units. For example, the practically never ending conflicts between doctors and ambulance medics.

This movie isn't really the commercial sort (that's a compliment on my part). The very slow pace at which everything happens will probably send off many viewers. But if you are patient, you'll see that by the middle of the picture you'll get more and more curious of what will happen next to Mr. Lazarescu.

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44 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
A stunning evocation of real-time medical hell, 17 November 2005

Author: Chris Knipp from Berkeley, California

Shown at the New York and Chicago film festivals, October 2005. A Tartan Films release in the US, limited release scheduled for May 2006.

Puiu was inspired at nineteen by Jim Jarmusch's "Stanger Than Paradise" to become a filmmaker. He says "ER" is syndicated in Rumania: "When you watch the American show, there's movement in every direction, the choreography of the characters is amazing -- but I can't believe any of it." In "Mr. Lazarescu" Puiu does an "ER," Rumanian style. There's movement in only one direction -- following sixty-something Lazarescu, a drinker with a sore belly and a terrible headache, on a Saturday night in Bucharest when there has been a bad bus accident, after he calls 911. Puiu throws out hints of profundity with names in the script like Lazarus, Virgil, Dante, Remus, and Angel; and the trek from hospital to hospital as Lazarescu's diagnosis changes and his condition worsens can be seen as a journey through Hell. But the film didn't win the Un Certain Regard top prize at Cannes this year because of any message. It's Puiu's attention to detail, the precise planning of dialog and camera positions that gives a sense of documentary accuracy to the action and makes the film compulsively watchable and somehow unique and yet universal.

A splendid movie. Probably one of the top five selections of the New York Film Festival. There is much that can be said about it but really only one thing need be said: see it as soon as you can. Watch for a DVD release.

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36 out of 45 people found the following comment useful :-
Brrrrrr!, 8 October 2005

Author: Spuzzlightyear from Vancouver

The medical system, if you want to call it that, because there's nothing really systematic about it, is savagely explored in the curiously interesting " Death Of Mister Lazarescu", a movie that I'm liking more and more now that I think back on what I saw. Essentially following a hellish night of a lout who gets head and chest pains and then dares to call the ambulance and better yet, dares to go to a hospital. I kind of wonder about this exposure of the medical system, even though it does take place in Romania, whether the same thing could happen here, eg, the type of medical care largely depends on your social class and whether you have enough money or not. Having said that. The lead actor, one Ion Fiscuteanu, is simply phenomenal in the title role as a belligerent old drunk who rather grudgingly goes to the hospital, and as he gets shuffled from hospital to hospital (largely because of a bus accident that swamped many of the E.Rs in the city, becomes less and less communicative… What a show, and what heartless people the hospital people are! Not just to the patient, who can't stop commenting about his drinking, but also to the EMT's, who dare to offer medical opinions but then are shot down because "they are'nt doctors". OUCH! What a show! If you ever get a chance, try to go see this one.

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26 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
More than it seems, 31 October 2005

Author: mihaela serea from Romania

Indeed, this movie means a lot more than it seems to.

It is not only about a poor sanitary system. It is also about old age, loneliness, illness, about physical and mental degradation. It is about major as well as minor facts of life, about keeping the human feelings despite of hostile conditions. It is about obedience and dignity. It is about love and care. About bed luck, when it comes, about how to face it.

It is not a documentary; it is not a mass media investigation. It is an art movie, and if it was only about the sanitary system, such a gifted artist like Cristi Puiu shouldn't bother at all. Besides, you know, it is not only about what you say, it is a lot about how you say it. Just have a look and see a great screen play, a great director and great, great, great actors.

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29 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
really, it's strange how it grabs you, 4 October 2005

Author: silviu gherman from Bucharest, Romania

it's a tough bet that the director won. what seems to be odd for such a minimalistic movie is that, with each viewing, you can find a lot of mundane details that fit together and form a more complex picture. of course, that's the whole idea (using minimum means to maximize the effect). in this sense Moartea Domnului Lazarescu stands out as a real piece of work and can almost reach the status of a "cult" picture. i found it a bit too long at times, but you just need to give it a chance, and you'll be hooked. oh, and the actors' performances were outstanding. except for this one, i've never come across a Romanian movie that i could completely "believe" in terms of acting. see it.

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38 out of 52 people found the following comment useful :-
Dead before dying-"a reality show"!, 2 October 2005

Author: mack_and1 from Romania

A shocking film only for those not living in Lazarescu's country.If you are a potential "Lazarescu" , you react to the movie as to a...reality show.

Truthfullness of basic,minor,daily based dialogs between people(Lazarescu's neighbors ,doctors..)is one of the movie's best ingredients.The ways in which Lazarescu is left behind other stories/problems is so cruel...but so human too.We as individuals are ego-centrics and selfish by nature.

Black-comedy for some,unbearable drama for others(some left the cinema)-it is a great movie.

I am just wondering-the success of the Romanian film directors is depending on presenting shocking movies based on post-Communist realities?Will the occident accept other themes with no eastern flavour,made by eastern film-directors?Probably if director is Cristi Puiu-yes

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22 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
Slow paced, but ultimately good movie., 6 November 2005

Author: siderite from Romania

This is one of those movies that you remember because it was different from any other. Well, the Anglo-Saxon viewers will probably remember Bringing Out the Dead with Nicholas Cage and find similarities. But this is not a film that focuses on the characters, but on the system, the people are ordinary people with ordinary needs and flaws, working inside a system that itself is not perfect.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a movie that wants to shock by presenting horrible flaws in a medical system we all need to trust, it is a film that presents the system close to reality, maybe even in a better light than most of us Romanians see it, and still flawed.

The story itself is based on a true event and the end is completely non judgemental. You get to see it and think about it, that is it. The true beauty of the film is the normality of every situation, the calm or unrest of people that is completely ordinary and the way it drags the subject of the movie (Lazarescu himself) from a sickly lonely old man, but otherwise a normal human being, to the end.

I think it is a good film overall, a great film as Romanian films are concerned, and also a good watch for non Romanians as well.

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19 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
My opinion: go watch it, and deep inside you, you'll find hope... 'cause it never dies., 3 October 2005

Author: Adina Benny

This is great! This movie is something that not only gives you a terrible feeling but it leaves you with a hope.... The hope that maybe, somehow this will end in a different way than the title says. It is admirable how Cristi Puiu managed to show a part of how Romania used to be. The simplicity, the community's moral help, the doctor's ignorance make this movie so much different of any other one I ever saw. It was like seeing everything LIVE. Maybe this is the reason it takes two hours and a half to watch it. It is rather hard for this movie theme to put 5 hours of action in only one and a half; a theme where every detail, every word, and every expression of their faces matter. My opinion: go watch it, and deep inside you, you'll find hope... 'cause it never dies.

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