Ion Fiscuteanu,
Luminita Gheorghiu,
Doru Ana,
Dana Dogaru,
Serban Pavlu
... see more 
Mr. Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu) is not feeling well. He has a bad headache and has been vomiting. He feels that it is something more serious than the pain caused by his ulcer and the hangovers caused b... read more
DVD Release Date: September 12, 2006
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Stats: 353 reviews
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Flixster Reviews (353)
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July 17, 2011this is a good film, but the humor is so dark that you won't find yourself laughing. the cinema verite styling works well with the content, adding to the existential questions raised within the film. if you can't bear hospitals and imminent death, do not attempt to watch this movie.
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May 2, 2006[font=Century Gothic]"The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" is about Dante Remus Lazarescu(Ion Fiscuteanu), a 62-year old retired widower, who lives in an apartment with his three cats. One Saturday he has a severe headache while vomiting blood. At night, he calls for an ambulance after ... read more
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June 17, 2008This film was hard to get through. It was so depressing, I had to watch it in two parts. How any one could call this a comedy is beyond me. Perhaps it is because I have had to deal with the horrible medical insurance in the States. I could Identify with being turned away from hos... read more
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February 26, 2008I always wanted to see this film, which is said to have kicked off the ?Romanian New Wave? but I?ve got to say, this was a real challenge to get through. This is one of those movie?s whose overall goal was to actively unpleasant for 153 minutes, and I basically watched it in thr... read more
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August 7, 2007The subtitles are nearly impossible to read. Unless you're really interested in the pitfalls and failures of the health system of whatever country this film is from, you want to skip this film I found it boering and pointless.
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September 5, 2011Lazarescu Dante 62 year old man lives alone. He lost his wife six years ago. His daughter and his sister lives in Canada. He had ulcer surgery 14 years ago but he keeps drinking his favorite booze. He shares his loneliness with three stray cat named Mirantolina, Nusu and Fritz. O... read more
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July 13, 2007do not be deterred by the length necessary to convey this Kafkaesque (yes i know, overused) experience: the rotting bureaucratic health-care system, the absurdity of signing that form, the imperceptible descent into misery. this film can certainly be grouped with the Dogme school... read more
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June 30, 2007I'm glad I didn't expect this to be a comedy, like the poster advertises. The movie follows the titular Mr. Lazarescu as he is transported from hospital to hospital, room to room, by a paramedic he called complaining about aches and vomiting. Essentially what ensues is a series o... read more
Critic Reviews
December 26, 2006
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
July 28, 2006
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
As commentary, it's grim. As filmmaking, it's a powerfully disturbing odyssey through the Bucharest health care system. Full Review
July 13, 2006
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post
A tour de force of cinema verite with astonishing performances by a huge cast of small players. Full Review
June 30, 2006
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
The movie is a stunner, so hypnotic that the length hardly matters. Full Review
June 16, 2006
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
By recording this all too commonplace and dehumanizing process, Puiu's film shows the sick old man and the strangers who deal with him to be all too human -- extraordinarily so.
June 15, 2006
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Puiu maintains a strong current of suspense about the outcome -- despite the title, will this Lazarus be revived? --- and a bracingly cynical sense of humor that rescues the material from being a tota... Full Review
May 12, 2006
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I suspect medical professionals would see much they recognize in this movie. The credits include a long list of technical advisers, but it doesn't take an adviser to convince you the movie is authentic. Full Review
May 11, 2006
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
It takes a while to adjust to its rhythm, but the Romanian film The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is a rich, strange and weirdly gratifying odyssey. Full Review
May 6, 2006
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
A film of universal small human moments and big-system failure. Full Review
May 6, 2006
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
A mordant parable of and about our time as well as a poem of personal urban decay. Full Review
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