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.
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
A black comedy with serious side effects.
2005 · 2h 30m · R
Comedy, Drama
Directed by
Cristi Puiu
Overview
After suffering terrible headaches and stomach cramps, Mr. Lăzărescu, a lonely 63 year-old man, calls for an ambulance, beginning one man’s hellish journey through Bucharest hospitals in search of proper medical care. As the night unfolds, his health starts to deteriorate fast.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
There's something about Fiscuteanu's quietly desperate performance (with much of the emotion conveyed through his eyes), that gets under your skin.
As commentary, it's grim. As filmmaking, it's a powerfully disturbing odyssey through the Bucharest health care system.
A tour de force of cinema verite with astonishing performances by a huge cast of small players.
The movie is a stunner, so hypnotic that the length hardly matters.
More films
Tales from the Golden Age (2009)
Comedy · History · NOT RATED
Composed of six unconventional vignettes, each one dealing with the late communist period in Romania, a narrative is told through its urban myths from the perspective of ordinary people. The title refers to the alluded "Golden Age" of the last 15 years of Ceaușescu's regime.
- Runtime
- 2h 35m
- Director
- Hanno Höfer, Cristian Mungiu
- Cast
- Tania Popa, Diana Cavallioti, Radu Iacoban
Biutiful (2010)
Drama · R
This is a story of a man in free fall. On the road to redemption, darkness lights his way. Connected with the afterlife, Uxbal is a tragic hero and father of two who's sensing the danger of death. He struggles with a tainted reality and a fate that works against him in order to forgive, for love, and forever.
- Runtime
- 2h 28m
- Director
- Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Cast
- Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib
The Tunnel (2001)
Drama · Thriller · N/A
Inspired by true events, Olympic swimmer Harry Melchior defects from East Germany in the 1960s and hatches a daring plot to help his sister and others flee East Berlin through a 145-yard underground tunnel.
- Runtime
- 2h 30m
- Director
- Roland Suso Richter
- Cast
- Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, Sebastian Koch
Dresden (2006)
Drama · History · War · N/A
At a Dresden hospital in 1945, nurse Anna Mauth (Felicitas Woll) cares for badly injured British pilot Robert Newman (John Light), whom Anna believes to be a German deserter. As Allied forces close in, Anna grows close to Robert despite her engagement to Dr. Alexander Wenninger (Benjamin Sadler). The gripping historical romance won a 2...
- Runtime
- 3h
- Director
- Roland Suso Richter
- Cast
- Felicitas Woll, John Light, Benjamin Sadler
Mogadischu (2008)
History · TV Movie · Thriller
The incredible true story of Lufthansa Flight 181, which was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in October of 1977, and the noble efforts of stewardess Gabriele Dillmann (Nadja Uhl) to ensure the safety of the terrified passengers throughout the harrowing ordeal. When terrorists sympathetic to the cause of th...
- Runtime
- 1h 48m
After the Truth (1999)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · N/A
Famous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele — the 'Death Angel of Auschwitz', who killed more than 300.000 people — emerges from his hideout in Argentina to Germany as a 87-year-old man, and must stand for his crimes in court. The young solicitor Peter Rohm is assigned to defend him, but Rohm himself — an expert on Mengele and his crimes — feels ...
- Runtime
- 2h 8m
- Director
- Roland Suso Richter
- Cast
- Götz George, Kai Wiesinger, Karoline Eichhorn







Comments
Talk about the film with other members