Synopsis

Mister Lăzărescu is suffering from headaches and vomiting. From his shabby apartment in an anonymous industrialised apartment block in Bucharest, he thus calls the ambulance. After a long wait, it finally arrives. But this was only the the beginning of an upcoming night-time odyssey from hospital to hospital, from diagnosis to diagnosis. It gets ever more clear that Mister Lăzărescu’s physical condition is critical, but the hospitals are just too crowded and the staff is overworked. Only Miss Mioara, a paramedic, is not leaving his side.

Director and screenwriter Christi Puiu highlights the nightly odyssey with dreary pictures of documentary quality. He came up with the idea for this movie not only due to his despair over the inefficiency of his homeland’s public health care system, but also thanks to the examination of his own hypochondria. Puiu created a moving drama, which is meanwhile considered a style-defining national epic in Romania. The honouring with the Un Certain Regard award in Cannes in 2005 was the first big international acknowledgement for the aspiring film nation. Only two years later, another Rumanian movie, namely Christian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, brought home the Golden Palm.

Guests

Cristi Puiu

Director Bridges of Sarajevo
Director The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Lecturer Master Classes