Cinema Romanesc: The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Don’t let all the smiles of the erroneously designed DVD cover fool you.
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is not your typical summer blockbuster. It will not dazzle you with special effects or sexy celebrities. It does not have a flag-waving ending where F-16s zoom overhead to the sounds of Rock You Like A Hurricane. No, this film attempts to represent the gritty details of the reality of life and death for Romanian pensioners as the world keeps right on moving.
Odds are it will touch you. You may feel saddened at the lack of diginity afforded to humans. You may be outraged by the arrogance and indifference. You will probably grapple with the conflict between how much suffering was the cause of tragedy outside his control or whether he brought some punishment upon himself. In any event, you will not be a passive observer of yet another mindless, boiler-plate Hollywood template. The brute strength of realism will keep you engrossed for the entire two hours and thirty four minutes.
I’ll attempt to avoid spoilers by summarizing the basic plot carefully. The movie is set in a rather typical apartment of Bucureşti where we find 63-year old Dante Remus Lazarescu feeling terribly (sometimes violently) ill and in need of relief. As he talks with his cats, interacts with relatives by telephone, and seeks help from his neighbors, we begin to understand some of the background of who he is.
Eventually, his condition steadily worsens and the setting changes to the inner workings of Romanian doctors and hospital staff. Throughout the film are references to pervasive alcohol problems among Romania’s elderly population, revealing details on the challenges faced by medical personnel in many modern cities, and an exposé on the attitude and pecking-order of Romanian doctors.
Director Cristi Puiu must have worked painstakingly hard to create this piece of art. The details are all a perfect slice of life whether it is inside the Ceauşescu-style communist apartments, during an ambulance ride through the streets of Bucureşti, witnessing the disturbingly accurate health care facilities, or in the progression of Mr. Lazarescu’s fate. The characters of Mr. Lazarescu and Mioara are particularly engaging. Dialogue is witty, sharp, and without fluff. Each line seems to have its purpose in bringing us closer to understanding the environment we witness.
All the actors and actresses deliver their parts with remarkable skill which is sure to boost their respective careers by making a strong impression on other film-makers. As a highlight, Ioan Fiscuteanu, Mihai Bratila, and Rodica Lazar turned in particularly stunning performances.
On camera work, it should be noted there seemed to be a distinct lack of stabilizers which shows up as some jitters here and there. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like disaster of Blair Witch. I think the Death of Mr. Lazarescu could have benefitted from some enhanced camera handling to eliminate these quirks. However, I’m sure there were tough budgetary constraints to work within.
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, the second feature-length film from director Cristi Puiu, won both the top “Un Certain Regard Prize” at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and the “Silver Hugo” award from the 2005 Chicago International Film Festival in addition to recently being nominated for Best Foreign Film at the upcoming 2006 Independent Spirit Awards.
Puiu described the film thusly;
“Mr. Lazarescu speaks about a world where love for our fellow man doesn’t exist, about someone whose need for help is ignored by all around him… Learning the truth about a situation, however banal, can take a lifetime. The story takes place over six hours, but it can’t be told in real time. The filmmaker has to choose those bits of reality to capture. Every time you cut, you turn the camera or your eye towards one situation, you turn your back on another.”
I describe it as required viewing for story lovers and fans of cinematic art. I describe it as clear justification for future, larger projects to be given to the director and several of the actors and actresses. I describe it as: death.
February 16th, 2006 at 2:58 am
We saw the film recently — very impressed with the fine acting, the sadness of the narrative of course, and also with the clever way in which the different hospitals were characterized. I dont know whether the humor came through to the American audience, perhaps it was a little too subtly and darkly EastEuro. But altogether a fine film.
February 16th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
I agree there were some sickly dark humor moments. In fact, that’s one reason why I singled out Mihai Bratila’s performance in the tomograf room. He did an outstanding job delivering the full context of that character’s personality… which made it funny in a dark way.
There were other bits, too. But my take on it wasn’t necessarily ha-ha funny humor, so much as chuckling because you can’t believe some of the psychosis you are witnessing. Very dark and subtle indeed.
May 12th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
[...] Here we can see three boys who obviously watched The Death of Mr. Lazarescu recently. [...]
June 20th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
[...] Meanwhile, the hospitals are teetering on the edge of going without water. Supposedly, they’ve got a slight bit of reserves on hand and a stream of trucks will be organized to bring water from somewhere. Hospital officials told reporters they had done as much as humanly possible to hedge against medical catastrophes, but clearly things would “not be easy” for the next two days. Sorry, Mr. Lazarescu, but nobody in Braşov cares even one iota. Please die. Die now. [...]