The Death of Mr. Lazarescu () is a 2005 Romanian dark comedy film by director Cristi Puiu. In the film an old man (Ioan Fiscuteanu) is carried by an ambulance from hospital to hospital all night long, as doctors keep refusing to treat him and send him away.
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu enjoyed immediate critical acclaim, both at film festivals, where it won numerous awards, and after wider release, receiving enthusiastic reviews. However, the film did poorly in international box office. The film is planned to be the first in a series by Puiu called Six Stories from the Outskirts of Bucharest.
The film was named the fifth "Best Film of the 21st Century So Far" in 2017 by The New York Times.
Plot
Dante Remus Lăzărescu (Ioan Fiscuteanu), a cranky retired engineer, lives alone as a widower with his three cats in a Bucharest apartment. In the grip of extreme pain, Lăzărescu calls for an ambulance, but when none arrives, he asks for his neighbors' help. Not having the medicine Lăzărescu wants, the neighbors give him some pills for his nausea. A neighbor reveals that Lăzărescu is a heavy drinker. His neighbor helps Lăzărescu back to his apartment and to bed. They call again for an ambulance.
When the ambulance finally arrives, the nurse, Mioara (Luminița Gheorghiu), dispels the idea that Lăzărescu's ulcer surgery over a decade before could cause this pain. While taking the patient history, she suspects that Lăzărescu has colon cancer. After informing his sister, who lives in a different city, that the condition could be serious and she should visit Lăzărescu in the hospital, the nurse decides to get him to a hospital. His sister makes arrangements to come the following day; his only child, a daughter, lives in Toronto, Canada.
The film follows Lăzărescu's journey through the night, as he is carried from one hospital to the next. At the first three hospitals, the doctors, after much delay, reluctantly agree to examine Lăzărescu. Then, although finding that he is gravely ill and needs emergency surgery, each team refuses to admit him and sends him to another hospital. Meanwhile, Lăzărescu's condition deteriorates rapidly, his speech is reduced to babbling, and he slowly loses consciousness. The hospitals are jammed with injured passengers from a bus accident, but some doctors appear to reject him out of fatigue or because they do not feel like taking care of a smelly old drunkard. During the night, his only advocate is Mioara, the paramedic who stubbornly stays by him and tries to get him hospitalized and treated, while passively accepting verbal abuse from the doctors who look down on her.
Finally, at the fourth hospital, the doctors admit Lăzărescu. The film ends as they prepare to perform an emergency operation to remove a blood clot in his brain.
Cast
Ioan Fiscuteanu - Mr. Lăzărescu
Luminița Gheorghiu - Mioara Avram
Doru Ana - Sandu Sterian
Șerban Pavlu - Gelu
Dana Dogaru - Mihaela Sterian
Florin Zamfirescu - Dr. Ardelean
Bogdan Dumitrache - Medic at Spitalul Sf. Spiridon
Dragoș Bucur - Mișu
- Trial Medic at University Hospital
Production
According to Cristi Puiu, he started work on the film after being frustrated by unsuccessfully trying to get grants from the National Council of Cinematography (CNC), a Romanian public institution which is the main provider of financing for filmmaking in Romania. Both in 2001 and 2003, Cristi Puiu, supported by other young Romanian film directors (such as Nae Caranfil and Cristian Mungiu), accused CNC of directing financing towards the members of its Advising Council, led by Sergiu Nicolaescu, and their protégés. In 2003 Puiu wrote in a few weeks the synopsis for a six-film cycle he called Six stories from the outskirts of Bucharest (including The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu). He initially planned them as low-budget films, in order to prove that Romanian directors can make films without aid from the CNC.
Between 2001 and 2003, Cristi Puiu suffered from stress and an exaggerated fear of relatively minor ailments; as a result of his hypochondria, he frequently sought medical help. Although he learned that he was suffering from stress and a common form of colitis, Puiu became convinced that he had a terminal disease. The resulting fear of dying made him obsessively collect information on diseases and medication, and he spent much time in doctors' offices and emergency rooms. This period informed his portrayal of the medical system in this film.