The Death of Mr. Lazarescu Review

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

Year:  2005

Director: Cristi Puiu

Main Actors:  Doru Ana, Ion Fiscuteanu, and Monica Barladeanu

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is a Romanian film that is part of a six feature film series known as Stories from the Suburbs of Bucharest.  This movie won 25 awards and is an excellent look at healthcare.

Mr. Lazarescu lives alone and is in pain; he has been in pain for several days. Finally, he calls an ambulance.  The beginning of the movie feels dragged out; to the viewer it feels like nothing is going to happen.  However, after finishing the movie I believe that is to give the viewer a feel of the waiting Mr. Lazarescu experienced.  It took so long for the ambulance to arrive.  He talks with his neighbors while waiting, who are gossipy and do not really care about him.  They are focused on the fact that he drank too much. 

Finally, the nurse arrives and begins to examine him.  The neighbors do not want to go to the hospital with him to make things easier at admittance.  Even from the time he called the ambulance to the time when the nurse says he has to go to the hospital, his health is deteriorating.  He has a hard time walking and is vomiting blood.

They get him in the van and he decides he wants to sit up and talk. They begin the journey to the hospital and he then to lie down.  They arrive at the hospital; there has been a large bus accident and it is very hard to find a doctor to look at Mr. Lazarescu.   The doctor examines him, but just focuses on the fact that he has been drinking.  The doctor is arrogant and believes that he knows it all; however, he is not the worst.  He refers them to another hospital. The nurse brings him back to the van and they start to the next hospital.

They go through four hospitals in all. Some are busy with the accident and it seems that the hospital system cannot handle an accident plus the daily illnesses.  However, at other hospitals the doctors are so pretentious.  At one hospital, the nurse tells the doctor his situation and the doctor went off on how she, as a doctor, was not going to be ordered around by a nurse etc.  The other doctor was too busy trying to call someone and needed to borrow a phone.  Through this Mr. Lazarescu is getting weaker and weaker.   He becomes quiet in the van and loses consciousness.  At one hospital, they demanded that Mr. Lazarescu sign a waiver of consent, but he cannot hold a pen or understand what they are saying.  The doctor sends him and the nurse away to another hospital

By the time he reaches the fourth and last hospital it is an emergency operation and no consent is needed.

This movie showed doctors who were so preoccupied with their own lives that they forgot what they needed to do.  A man was fading and getting closer and closer to death, no one but the nurse who picked him up cared.  The doctors were interested in proving their superiority to a nurse or worried about their seemingly trivial problems. Mr. Lazarescu was not perfect, every doctor brought up his drinking problem and even though they all admitted it was serious no one wanted to help.  

I took this movie to be a warning to those who wanted to be doctors and a reminder to those who are already a doctor.   The message is: While on the job, your concern is the patient.  During those times you must put yourself and your problems aside because right in front of you is a person who needs you.  They deserve to have your attention and trivial tests of superiority do no matter.  Being a doctor is a higher calling; it is one that requires you to give up yourself for most of the day and focus on the people in the worst moments of their lives that need all of you.