I really don't understand how this movie won so many awards. It's below mediocre and when I'm saying this I'm considering the standards in romanian cinema, which are pretty low. I must say that I don't sympathize at all with Lazarescu, although the director almost forces this sympathy on the viewers, while accusing the medical system for... for what? From what I can tell everyone treated him fairly nice, given the context with that accident and the fact that he's just one among many others (and some of them with more urgent problems). And speaking about that accident... in the beginning of the movie, when Lazarescu is still at home, at tv the reporter mentions this accident telling there are 7 deaths and 29 injured. You know how much time passed since the reporter started this news until Lazarescu's neighbour turned off the tv? 20 seconds! People die every day all across the globe from a variety of reasons. Do we care? No we don't! So Lazarescu died... SO WHAT?!Leaving the ugly topic aside, the movie is made in a very amateurish way. Yes, I understand that realism plays a big part, but why don't make a documentary, label it as a documentary so it can be viewed by the people who are really interested in the topic, and save us 2 and a half hours of waiting for that guy to finally die? An over-rated movie who suffers of the same curse which seems to be the plague of romanian cinema... realism. At least if it was some kind of artsy realism or if it had an important message to transmit, but it doesn't.

The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu a film by Cristi Puiu is filled with black humor.Though it's a Romanian movie , it's theme satirically opens the mindset of current societies all over the world.It's a very disturbing movie.This film gave me experience some what similar to have a thorn inside my flesh which is difficult to remove.This movie gives a unique experience for those who like this genre.The lead role and paramedic are played out well by the actors.Lazarescu who is in his dying moments being shifted to various hospitals.But none of them addressed paramedic's concerns about the condition of Lazarescu. They constantly refused to admit him .This movie shows us the degraded scenario of medical systems.Some of the scenes and conversations seem unbearable as they irritates our conscience , but that's the specialty of this movie.It depicts reality as such.Some humorous moments in this movie are so dark that it will make you think and realize how cruel we are.In one scene doctor makes a remark about Lazarescu , "We can fix his hemorrhage so that the cancer could kill him" with a tinge of smile.These are moments where humor changes it's color and takes stand in the darker side.This movie shows the materialistic and pragmatic mindsets of current society which is reality to be afraid off .Lack of humanity and lack of concern for others are common behaviors now.Parameters of goodness and badness , social values are now things for archeology.This movie constantly reminds us that " reality is not stranger than we suppose, it is stranger than we can suppose". Technology has made us machines and globalization moulded us as clones .We need to fill this world with the colors of humanity. that's what this movie whispers.my rating is 8 out of 10

In the mood for two and a half hours of agonizing torture? I know there are masochists out in the world who have a need to suffer. Here is the perfect solution; a Romanian "dark comedy" in the style of The Hospital from 1971. Both deal with medical mistakes, but the American satire focused on a doctor played by George C. Scott, and this time it is a patient, the unfortunate Mr. Lazarescu, who is the victim of a health care nightmare. Mr. L. lives in his apartment alone with his cats, when he begins to experience severe stomach pains. He calls for an ambulance, and after a long wait, he asks a neighbor for help. They discover that he drinks a homemade booze that is causing most of his problems. He is taken from one hospital to the next, and by the time he reaches the third one, he is unconscious. A major bus accident causes chaos, filling the emergency rooms with other patients. Meanwhile the doctors are indifferent to Lazarezcu's suffering. There is no happy ending in this marathon of misery, and although it is very realistic, almost looking like a documentary, I needed some of that homemade hooch, by the time it was over.

This movie took awhile to get going. I was worried for several long minutes that I'd wasted my time and money renting it. Eventually, I got totally wrapped up in Mr. Lazarescu and his troubles and his helpers. It's a sad story about an alcoholic who is shunted from hospital to hospital with a seemingly minor problem. It's not that the health care workers don't care; the ambulance crew clearly does. It's just a lot of overburdened workers with problems of their own. The movie is done as if it were a documentary or reality TV show, and you really lose yourself in the story.SPOILERS:It's an absorbing movie, and the end is somewhat ambiguous. The version I saw had a key scene truncated to that it's not clear that he died. The scene was cut, but the sound was left in, so you're left with a black screen. The missing visual is the camera retreating from the view of Mr. Lazarescu's back - we're left seeing his body on the bed.