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      The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

      R 2005 2h 33m Drama List
      93% Tomatometer 76 Reviews 82% Audience Score 2,500+ Ratings Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) is a retired Romanian engineer, spending his time in the company of his cats and booze. When he starts feeling unusually ill, he first seeks painkillers from his neighbors. It soon becomes apparent that Lazarescu is indeed sick, and an ambulance arrives with a nurse (Luminita Gheorghiu) who has a few ideas about what could be the problem. However, a major traffic accident and poor organization leaves little room in Romanian hospitals for the fading Lazarescu. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Nov 03 Buy Now

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      Critics Consensus

      Shot in naturalistic style, this is a powerful indictment of absurdity and indifference in the face of human suffering.

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      Critics Reviews

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      Alissa Wilkinson Vox What [the film] does best is take all that frustration and put it into one man's story. As he suffers, we feel his pain and irritation by proxy. That kind of humanity is often missing from debates about policy - but there's nothing more important. Mar 16, 2017 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Both sad and darkly funny, the film is so sharply conceived and richly populated that it often registers like a Frederick Wiseman documentary, even though everything is scripted and every part played by a professional. Dec 26, 2006 Full Review Michael Brooke Sight & Sound Puiu's seemingly artless, documentary-style mise en scène, with the characters followed by a shoulder-mounted camera, conceals countless subtleties, foreshadowings and running themes. Sep 28, 2006 Full Review Anton Bitel Projected Figures Cristi Puiu's drama takes an old man on a Dante-esque long dark night of the soul through Romania's health care system Dec 13, 2021 Full Review Kong Rithdee Bangkok Post [The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu] isn't just a square slap in the face of state inefficiency. The film is about many things else, too: mortality, sympathy, the fragility and absurdity of life, which are sometimes indistinguishable. May 7, 2021 Full Review Robert Davis Paste Magazine The Death of Mr. Lazarescu seems effortlessly observed, even improvised, but it's actually a wonder of choreography, rhythm and social commentary. Rated: 4/5 Jun 8, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      isla s This is a very bleak watch - any comedy is very much dark in nature. I did find myself smirking on ocassion though, right enough. I found it both interesting and sad how the titular characters neighbours judged him - his situation and his surroundings. Social judgement is one of the key terms in relation to this film - buck passing also comes to mind. Another relevant term would be (in relation to the health professionals) God complex. Its sobering (no pun intended) how people, esp. professionals/those in authority, seem so quick to write him off, as it were. Given we're not provided any real background or history on him, its hard to judge him too much - we can only go by what he says. It does a good job as a film of social commentary, at depicting the lack of dignity and respect afforded to the older person who is assumed to be an anti-social nuisance, getting in everyone's way, needing vital resources. Its sad to think that older people who perhaps drink regularly may be viewed, or dismissed, in such a way from all but the get go. This is, as I say, a sobering watch. Its a tale of our times perhaps. It features some very shaky camerawork and the ending was, I felt, a little abrupt but that aside, its a good watch - its a bit of an allegory for society at the moment perhaps and its certainly a thought provoking watch. Oh and an example of a somewhat amusing pieces of dialogue is as follows - 'my, your slow. You should be sent to fetch death!' (charming!). Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is one of those rare films that you can actually appreciate for its originality and sharpness despite being a rather difficult film to actually watch. It's a film that hammers itself home on tedious, droll repitition, as Ioan Fiscuteanu's Mr. Lăzărescu is shuffled around from caretaker to caretaker and hospital to hospital while his condition consistently worsens, as those he interacts with demonstrate that combination of bureaucratic inefficiency and a general lack of empathy that pervades the hospital business, an industry featuring the peculiar combination of keeping people alive in medical emergencies (and all the supposed urgency that such a role demands) and clock-punching schedules. It's not really a black comedy in the traditional sense, it's too much of a tragic slow burn to really earn that title, but it is darkly comic (if that makes any sense); it's just one relentless statement on loneliness that keeps growing in scale with time. I can't say that it's a particularly entertaining watch, but this Romanian film bounces back and forth rather cleverly between "waiting room times sure do suck!" and "life is a bleak void and we all die alone". Creative and worthy of recognition, but probably not what you should bring to your friend's movie night. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/02/22 Full Review dave s A dark journey into Romanian bureaucracy, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu follows one man's descent, over the course of a single evening, into a Kafkaesque journey of despair and frustration. What makes the film so intriguing is the fact that, other than knowing that the protagonist is in poor health, drinks far too much and seems to begrudgingly love his cats, we know little about Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu), a man suffering from severe headaches and abdominal pain, making him a faceless pawn in a game of pass-the-buck. Shot in an almost documentary-like style, it is a scathing indictment of a health system that doesn't work and, more importantly, doesn't seem to care. Promoted as a dark comedy, the humor is so black it is often hard to detect – those expecting plenty of laughs will be sorely disappointed. It is long and often repetitive, but always manages to remain engaging. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Jeez this isn't a film I want a repeat viewing of. You feel painful and angry for the victim and the paramedic as a man passes away owing to a bureaucratic merry go round. Well acted and powerful film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Frustrating, funny, heartbreaking Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Contrary to the tag line, Cristi Puiu's winner of Cannes' Un Certain Regard prize about the eponymous elderly man wheeling in medical Gehenna is a funereal social realistic drama unmasking the deadly sins of Romanian healthcare system. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) is a retired Romanian engineer, spending his time in the company of his cats and booze. When he starts feeling unusually ill, he first seeks painkillers from his neighbors. It soon becomes apparent that Lazarescu is indeed sick, and an ambulance arrives with a nurse (Luminita Gheorghiu) who has a few ideas about what could be the problem. However, a major traffic accident and poor organization leaves little room in Romanian hospitals for the fading Lazarescu.
      Director
      Cristi Puiu
      Screenwriter
      Cristi Puiu, Razvan Radulescu
      Production Co
      Mandragora
      Rating
      R (Brief Nudity|Language)
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Romanian
      Rerelease Date (Theaters)
      Apr 26, 2006
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Nov 3, 2009
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $79.9K
      Runtime
      2h 33m
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