The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Film Review

Lazarescu Dante Remus (Ion Fiscuteanu) is a retired engineer living in Bucharest with only 3 cats and a bottle of home made tipple, Mastropol, for company. He has been ill for several days with head and stomach pains, and telephones for an ambulance. He asks his neighbours for medicine whilst he waits for the ambulance to arrive. Despite their misguided efforts to alleviate his condition, it is not until paramedic Mioara's (Luminita Gheorghia) arrival that the gravity of Lazarescu's condition becomes apparent. What follows is a laborious and frustrating journey from hospital to hospital as Lazarescu endures first hand the bureaucracy and latent inadequacy of the Romanian health care system.

Lazarescu is a lonely man that no longer has any meaningful presence in what remains of his family. Already a widower, his daughter has emigrated to Canada and his relationship with his sister appears fraught. His neighbours disapprove of his lifestyle and perceive him as a figure of ridicule. There are also strong hints that suggest Lazarescu is an alcoholic. Screenwriters Cristi Puiu and Razvan Radulescu render his desperate isolation poignantly as his neighbours and doctors in turn condescend him and treat him as an object of burden.

Ostensibly a black comedy, moments of light relief are as rare as they are rapier. One neurosurgeon quips that he will operate on Lazarescu's blood clot so that he can die from the neoplasm in his liver. Despite these moments, the real strength of this film is derived from its subtle but cutting satire on Romania's red tape strewn health care system and the indifferent attitude of doctors and nurses that are seen arranging dates, taking personal telephone calls, and engaging casually in shop gossip, all in the presence of Lazarescu's imperceptibly deteriorating condition.

'The Death of Mr. Lazarescu' clocks in at well over two hours, and the combination of a bleak colour palette and the hopelessness of the protagonists' situation makes 'The Death of Mr. Lazarescu' a difficult sell as a comedy. However, Puiu's stoicism and poise in direction is as admirable as it is refreshing. At a time where many films are content to signpost subtext and thematic cues, it's encouraging to see a film that reveals itself at its own pace and will probably affect you more than you might realise the next time you visit your GP.

4/5

'The Death of Mr. Lazarescu' is now available on DVD.