Film Reviews

The Death Of Mister Lazarescu

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Gabriel Spahiu
• Details: Romania, 150mins, 15.

"It's a problem of mortality" Because he has been throwing up blood all day, 62-year-old Mr. Lazarescu (Fiscuteanu) calls for an ambulance from his small, decrepit apartment. The ambulance seems to take an eternity to come and since his two daughters don't live in the city, two kindly neighbours sit with him until the paramedic Miorra (Gheorghiu) arrives. After running some basic tests, it becomes obvious to Miorra that the old man is fading fast and he decides to bring him to the hospital. However, the paramedic and patient lose battle after battle with cold, ego-driven doctors and are shunted from one hospital to the next all night long.
It's realism that makes The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu unforgettable. From the first phone call to the hospital where he complains of a bad headache, director Cristi Puiu takes us on Lazarescu's last journey every painstakingly slow step of the way. The documentary style approach makes the viewer forget they are watching a film not long after the opening credits, which is probably the greatest compliment anyone can bestow on a filmmaker. His leading man Ion Fiscuteanu delivers a performance so captivating and it's hard not to see your own grandfather up there on screen and he is in good company as Luminita Gheorghiu, as the world-weary but warm-hearted paramedic, backs him up with an equally impressive display. A study in mortality, The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu subtly asks many questions of an absent God, here in the form of the cold, burnt out and uncaring doctors. It tends to drag at times and at 150 minutes it far outstays its welcome but if one had enough patience to see this to the end, the rewards are endless.

Review by Gavin Burke