A dark, dark comedy as an old man is shuttled from hospital to hospital in the early hours of a Bucharest morning with the medical staff uncertain how to treat him.
Complaining to his neighbours of ill-health, an ambulance is called for lonely Domnui Lazarescu (Ion Fiscuteanu – Sindromul Timisoara, Too Late). Coinciding with a major road accident, what unfolds, as his health deteriorates, is a series of differing diagnoses as the old man is sent from hospital to hospital. Medic Mioara Avram (Luminita Gheorghiu – Child’s Pose, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) alone stays with a by-now mostly unconscious Lazarescu.
Nuanced social realism in its direction from Cristi Puiu (Manor House, Sieranevada) and a superbly understated ensemble (Gheorghiu is a stand out) highlight institutional and personal disinterest in the social system. Challenging but quietly brilliant.
Rating: 86%