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The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

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****1/2

The Romanian film "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" is a 147-minute fictional drama that plays out almost entirely in what documentary filmmakers like to refer to as "real time." Lazarescu is a 62-year-old widower who lives with his three beloved cats in a rundown apartment in Bucharest. Even though he had an operation for a stomach ulcer 14 years earlier, Lazarescu still drinks excessively, perhaps as a means of assuaging his loneliness or perhaps because he is simply an alcoholic. As the movie begins, Lazarescu is suffering from a severe headache, stomach pains and vomiting, so he calls for an ambulance to come and take him to the hospital. The movie is a slice-of-life chronicle of that trip.

This is all the "story" director Cristi Puiu provides us with as we see Lazarescu being shuffled from one hospital and emergency room to another by a compassionate middle-aged paramedic named Mioara. Puiu clearly has some sharp things to say about the care - or in some cases, LACK of care - Lazarescu receives at the hands of a medical system that is overstretched and undermanned, filled with doctors who are often petty and ill-tempered towards not only their patients but even the paramedics whom the doctors perceive as being clearly "beneath" them in training and knowledge (the irony is that Mioara is more accurate in her diagnosis of the patient than a number of the doctors who examine him). However, Puiu also shows us doctors and nurses who perform their jobs admirably and treat the ill with kindness. Actually, the best thing about "The Death of Lazarescu" is that it observes without judgment. We really feel as if we are seeing life unfolding in front of us without so much as a trace of phoniness, melodramatics or theatricality to dilute the vision. The scenes come off as totally spontaneous and unscripted, as the director (along with co-writer Razvan Radulescu) chronicles the lives of these various people whose paths just happen to cross on this one hectic Saturday night in Bucharest. With the use of a handheld camera to record the action, Puiu makes us feel as if we ourselves are along for the ride, being afforded this rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into not only this medical drama but the countless little truths about human behavior Puiu reveals along the way.

The film would not be the tremendous success it is were it not for the extraordinary performances from each and every member of its amazing cast, from Ion Fiscuteanu as Lazarescu to Luminta Gheorghiu as the paramedic, to all the various men and women who appear on screen as neighbors, doctors, nurses, drivers, technicians etc. Their performances are all so unmannered and lifelike that you would swear you were watching a documentary feature rather than a fictional narrative. Fiscuteanu, in particular, delivers a tour-de-force turn here as a man fighting not only the ravages of illness and pain, but the indignities that come along with being passively bandied about among various doctors and hospitals and being subjected to withering comments from medical personnel resentful of having to "fix" someone whose problems all seemingly stem from alcoholism (this attitude actually leads to a careless misdiagnosis on the part of one of the doctors).

The film clearly doesn`t sugarcoat reality but neither does it make it appear worse than it actually is, which is often the case with movies that try to capture life "in the raw" as it were. "The Death of Lazarescu" manages to capture life's rawness without resorting to the kind of excessive narcissism or hyperbole that lesser artists would have used.

And that is the triumph of "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu." It draws us so deeply into its world and makes us so familiar with the people who inhabit it that we don't really feel as if we are watching a movie at all. Rarely have 147 minutes passed so quickly.

Poor Mr. Lazarescu. His head has been aching all day, he's been vomitting and yet no one will help him. He's called the ambulance twice, and it has taken forever for it to arrive. He's even visited his neighbors to ask them if they have any painkillers, but, they seem a little annoyed. Not to mention his brother-in-law is hounding him about money he owes him.

This is pretty much the set-up to Cristi Puiu's "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu". And the title gives away the ending, so, we are only left with the middle.

"The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" is one of the first, if not the first Romanian film to receive huge international fame and actually be released in America in recent times.

Ever since the fall of Communism in Romania the country has struggled trying to find its voice. Strickly speaking about their films (we won't even dwell in their politics) they seem to be drawn towards dark, cynical comedies that they think will appeal to western audience (namely Americans). But, Romanian humor is hard for Americans to digest. Most people do not understand our Eastern European humor. Because of this these films have either, not been released in this country or have not gained much cross-over audience appeal.

The solution, of course, is easy. Romanians have to make films that are personal to them, not worry about what will appeal to Westerns. Now that Communism is over, why not make films dealing with life under its rule? Romanians could make human drama dealing with people and how life has changed since Communism's fall. Some films have attempted to do this, but with that dark humor. If Americans are familiar with Romanian films, there is a pretty good chance it is through the films of Lucian Pintilie and "The Oak", which dealt with the very subject of old world Romania meeting new world Romania.

What all of this has to do with this film is "Lazarescu" is at least addressing a "Romanian" problem, but, it has universal appeal. See, if you stick to what you know, others will not only follow, but relate.

The film has a pretty unusually style that American audiences might have a hard time getting adjusted to. The movie was shot primarily with a hand held camera. Why? One could say, well, it's because Romanians have no money and this is the cheapest way to make a film. I'm not sure that's the real reason. I think Puiu wanted the film to be shot this way because he wanted us to feel we are watching a documentary. We are suppose to think of this in terms of being real. Situations such as this really do happen all over the world.

Much of the dialogue is terribly cynical. I didn't find the dialogue particularly funny, but, the situations were humorous. At time I started to wonder though, can it really be true? Can this really be the way doctors talk to their patients?

So much of the film feels true. We are really going along on this man's journey as hospital after hospital refuses to keep the man and find out exactly what is wrong with him.

I think the film also goes beyond just being a satire of Romania's health care system. It is also an attack on bureaucracy. The red tape government officials make us go through.

Director Cristi Puiu says this will be the first of a series of films he plans on calling "stories from suburbs of Bucharest". There will be six in total as Puiu says he was inspired by Eric Rohmer's "six moral tales". In his own words he says the film is about man's regard towards his fellow man. Hopefully with the success of this film, which has won awards at various international film festivals including; Cannes, Norwegian, Transilvania, Independent Spirit Awards and in Chicago, we will see the five other stories in the series.

Bottom-line: Very dark and cynical look not just at Romania's health care system but also a satire on bureaucracy. Director Puiu's debut film carries a nice pace to it by managing to really engage the audience due to the simplicity of the story and the human involvement the actors bring to their roles.

The movie is a powerful, insightful description of the corrupt health system in the today ex-comunist
Romania. Sometimes tragic-comic, bitter and accurate, sad and funny, the movie brings a realisticly rude
picture of the faulty medical care in the Romanian hospitals. The director captured perfectly the atmosphere
in the ER, ambulances and the encounter with the medical staff. Excelently acted!
***** rate.

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu, 2005)

When, at the end of a film, you are pounding on things, throwing things across the room, and yelling how you're going to fly across the ocean and strangle the director, there is one inescapable conclusion to be reached: that film has done its job, and admirably. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu does just that, though there is nothing at all admirable about the film itself; that is one of the sources of its power.

Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) is a sixty-two-year-old widower living in squalor with three cats. He gets up one morning with a headache, to which a stomachache is later added. Self-medication doesn't work, so he calls the hospital and asks them to send an ambulance. Thus begins a six-hour trip through the Romanian socialized health system that is absurd, outrageous, and all too plausible. Things are complicated by a massive bus crash that has every ER in Bucharest overflowing. Lazarescu's only champion is Mioara (Code Inconnu's Luminita Gheorghiou), the paramedic who originally came to pick him up.

It is all too easy to fall into identifying with Lazarescu and Mioara here, and Puiu has certainly given us some characters who embody everything that is horrible about medical care; I can't imagine anyone watching this movie and not watching to perform some amateur brain surgery on a couple of these doctors. I'm not sure, however, that that was the entirety of Puiu's intention here. If he's wanted to create a one-dimensional screed against the Romanian health care system, he'd have made it, well, a lot more one-dimensional. Instead, there are a number of health care workers here (Mioara is the most notable, but a number of the others are also praiseworthy) who, despite various levels of stress and exhaustion, do their best to make sure that Lazarescu gets the treatment he needs. While, ultimately, none of them are successful (and this is not a spoiler; the title of the film tells you all you need to know, doesn't it?), a number of them try. There's a lot more under the hood here than one might expect, given most reviews of the film to date. Matters are made worse by the ephemerality of the relationships everyone in the film, save Mioara, have with Lazarescu; none of the others is with him long enough to get a decent idea of his condition. We see him sliding further and further into dementia; the medical professionals, to a person, put it down to his being drunk. (And judging by the recipe for the alcohol he's been drinking given to Mioara by Lazarescu's neighbor at the beginning of the film, that's not entirely surprising.) The film is as frustrating for the fact that the viewer can understand the positions of both sides as it is for the horrendous way in which Lazarescu is treated.

I have to say that if this is an example of a Romanian comedy, I'd hate to see what they produce as a tearjerker. I've never seen a comedy this bleak. However, it's also the case that few comedies I've seen are anywhere near as compelling. I'll add my voice to the ever-growing pile recommending this film with all our collective heart. **** ½

Buyer beware, this film is entertaining only if you really appreciate good film making; if you're searching for an escape from the daily grind, don't watch it, it is too real!

I am not sure how the jury at Cannes was able to relate to the craftsmanship of Cristi Puiu; the reality of the hospitals and human relations in the health-care system in Romania is superbly depicted in this film. Although a feature film, it could pass as a documentary, which speaks volumes for the ability of the director and actors. When art reigns supreme, life and art are impossible to be separated.

Mr. Lazarescu is an elderly man living in a rather messy apartment with several cats in Bucharest, Romania. He has some health problems and seeks the help of neighbors whose suggestions do not improve his condition. His only daughter emigrated to Canada, so she is too far away to help. It takes some convincing on his part via the phone to get the ambulance to come but they eventually understand his needs. The female ambulance worker shows some compassion, examines him and takes him to the nearest hospital.

Unfortunately, there was a multi-car crash involving a bus on the freeway and many accident victims are taken to the emergency rooms (ERs) of nearby hospitals. The ER was packed and very busy. Mr. Lazarescu gets a quick exam but what he really ends up with is a lecture to stop drinking and he would get better. The ambulance personnel realize he is in pain and needs help ... so they take him to the next hospital. At the next facility, the personnell, both MDs, nurses, and technicians are rather indifferent and treat the female ambulance worker rather shabbily. Eventually, they do a somewhat better exam and agree on a diagnosis. They recommend a CT scan which can not be done in their facility because they do not have the equipment. They are given the necessary paperwork and move on to a third hospital. At this better equipped hospital, Mr. Lazarescu gets his tests not because he *should* nor because it is the right thing to do but *only* because the female ambulance worker has some "pull". She knows one of the healthcare workers who arranges for the test to be done immediatly.

A CT scan of the head is done showing he has a serious problem ... the matter is urgent. The physician tries to talk Mr. Lazarescu into having surgery. With much difficulty, they end up convincing him to sign the surgical permit/operating consent. There is no effort made to notify the next of kin or get their permission. It does not seem to matter that Mr. Lazarescu has no understanding of his condition nor is he aware of what he agreed to. Some OR technicians indifferently prepare him for surgery ...

The film reveals the failures of a socialized healthcare system via dark humor. It shows how inhumane, cold and uncaring people can be who have no sense of responsibility or accountability to the patient. Mr. Lazarescu is not given respect or shown compassion. The indifference to his plight is appalling. No one seems sensitive to his healthcare problems except the female ambulance worker. It seemed like a camera crew was filming the the true and actual events in the life of this man. The acting was superb by the main characters as well as by all the healthcare workers. The film is a huge success because one can see the insensitivity, the lack of guilt, the self-absorption of the healthcare workers and unfortunately these attitudes *can* develop in any healthcare system, not just in the socialized type. While the shuttling of Mr. Lazarescu from one hospital ER to the next would *not* occur in the U.S.A. due to EMTALA laws, the fact is under *any* healthcare system the care of the elderly patients can suffer and erode into indifference. While I hope the film is exaggerating the truth, sadly one can see how something similar *can* happen to the elderly and helpless, who have no one looking out for their interests. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

It is difficult to review this movie without giving any spoilers. The movie starts with Mr. Lazarescu in his apartment. Like the other characters in the movie, I smirk at his foibles and knowingly chide him for not taking better care of himself. Next he is in the ambulance and touring the city's hospitals. I laugh at the bureaucracy he encounters, the vanity of the doctors, and the petty concerns of the health care workers. It seems distant because he is in Romania and I am in the USA but it is nonetheless quite familiar. Romanian health care seems inefficient and ineffective but nonetheless benign because the participants seem unaware of the consequences of their actions and thereby somehow less responsible. And then in one moment in one scene it is made completely clear that the participants are in fact completely aware of the consequences of their actions. The participants are going to let Mr. Lazarescu die through their deliberate and inadvertent actions and inactions. He will die for their convenience and carelessness and pettiness. That at the end of the day, Mr. Lazarescu has been murdered but no one individual or group can or will be held accountable. In that moment my amusement turned to a silent grim horror that grew and grew until the inevitable conclusion of the movie. This is a rare and unique movie that reveals the true horror of the banal everyday evil that surrounds us in our lives. When I think back of all the movies made in the past decade, this one stands out stronger in my mind every day.

This is not a Hollywood-style motion picture. It is neither spectacular nor unpredictable. The outcome--after all--is announced in the title. What defines this movie is its incredible realism, in addition to a clear sense of time--wasted time, that is--and missed opportunities. A man is dying and nobody cares. Long, hand-held camera shots record his agony and helplessness in real time, as he faces bureaucracy, incompetence and indifference. While none of the caretakers takes responsibility, our patient undergoes inadequate exams and exhaustive testing without a single intervention aimed at saving his life. Worse, throughout the ordeal, Mr. Lazarescu is robbed of the most important tools in the arsenal of quality medicine: respect, dignity, and empathy. The viewer is left speechless, hoping that our hero's experience could not have occurred in real life. However. . . . remember the realism? Thumbs up to a great European movie! And--if I am allowed--a remainder that, despite its imperfections, the U.S. healthcare system is more desirable. . . .

One of my best and oldest pals is from a prominent Romanian family, and I love and speak the Romanian language. Naturally I jumped at this rare Romanian film (Romanian movies are rare). As a fan of anything coming out of Eastern Europe, I thought this film would show me some reality about modern Romanian life. It did, and I did not like it. Not that I don't like reality...I don't like the way this film sloughs off all moral responsibility toward the elderly. Perhaps that is its core message, but I think such a message could have been conveyed a lot better. In any event, Romanians are ghoulish in the way they express bitter things.

In this 2005 Romanian offering, MOARTEA DOMNULUI LAZARESCU (THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU) Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) is an elderly, lonely alcoholic with a decades-old stomach ulcer that aches all the time. One night he develops a headache and calls his sister in something of a muted panic. She bitches at him for a solid ten minutes about his drinking and the money he owes--this is all onscreen, shown only from Mr. Lazarescu's side. Tedious as hell. When I first saw this I told the wife I can get that from my sisters, no need to see a film about it.

Mr. Lazarescu turns to his half-kindly neighbor for help. (Sorry...other than Mr. Lazarescu, I'm not going to dig up these people's names.) They offer him various tonics, but Mr. Lazarescu insists that only a certain painkiller will help. His neighbor will not give it to him. An ambulance arrives, and as Americans, it will be inconceivable to follow the logic of that country's emergency medical care system. Third world all the way, I was going to say...but then I recalled, in the Third World, where I spent my summers growing up, health care is better than in this film.

Mr. Lazarescu is clearly dying, but that isn't discovered until several hours' worth of time later, when they finally get him in an ambulance. The way he is treated--as if he were a selfish, stupid old drunk who went around annoying doctors--made me feel sick! And I suppose that is the message here: where is our compassion? Where is our caring? Where is the respect for our elders, who must be protected as if they were our young?

This sad film (not in any way shape or form funny as some have erroneously said in review) answers my questions. Mr. Lazarescu dies, and we watch helpless as he wets himself, is abused for doing so, and his faculties slip away more and more. Suddenly the viewer looks and sees Mr. Lazarescu is dead.

It should be watched, as a life lesson. I can imagine all sorts of people teaching their children, asking, Do you want to end up being treated like the old man? I can see this being shown to all health care providers, as a lesson in how NOT to act.

Get this sad, muddy gem of a film. You will cry, I promise that, and you will learn.

Dubbed a "black comedy with serious side effects," Puiu's docu-realistic Romanian gem really nails the discouraging absurdities of modern-day health care, while rendering the bleak realities of chronic disease, loneliness, and mortality with an equally jaundiced eye. The grizzled Fiscuteanu is perfectly forlorn as Lazarescu, a man who elicits chiding lectures on his excessive drinking from his pitying (or indifferent) neighbors, and who appears to be a grudging afterthought to most of the doctors who bother to examine him. Grim and heartbreaking in its cumulative effect, "Lazarescu" is a hypnotic real-time odyssey with a morbid sense of humor.