The Death of Mr. Lazarescu 2006

Here’s a rephrased version of the section:

Dante Remus Lăzărescu (Ioan Fiscuteanu), a cantankerous retired engineer, inhabits a solitary existence in his Bucharest apartment, surrounded by three felines that are his only companions since his wife’s passing. As the pangs of extreme pain grip him, Lăzărescu summons an ambulance, but when it fails to materialize, he turns to his neighbors for assistance. Despite their good intentions, they provide him with pills intended to alleviate nausea rather than the much-needed medication, revealing a glimpse into Lăzărescu’s proclivity for heavy drinking. As his neighbor helps him back to his apartment and into bed, they place another call for an ambulance.

When the ambulance finally arrives, nurse Mioara (Luminița Gheorghiu) dispels any notion that Lăzărescu’s decade-old ulcer surgery could be the source of his anguish. As she takes his patient history, she begins to suspect that colon cancer may be the underlying cause of his suffering. With this dire news in mind, she decides to transport him to a hospital, informing his sister of the severity of his condition and urging her to make the journey from her distant city. Meanwhile, Lăzărescu’s daughter resides in Toronto, Canada, but is unreachable due to the vast distance.

As the night wears on, Lăzărescu embarks on a grueling odyssey through Bucharest’s hospitals, accompanied by Mioara, his sole advocate. At each successive hospital, doctors reluctantly agree to examine him, only to subsequently reject him, citing exhaustion or disdain for the elderly patient they perceive as a smelly old drunkard. As Lăzărescu’s condition rapidly deteriorates, his speech devolves into incoherent babbling, and he slowly succumbs to unconsciousness. Amidst the chaos, Mioara remains steadfast, battling against the apathy of medical professionals who seem more concerned with the influx of injured bus passengers than the plight of this ailing individual.

It is not until Lăzărescu reaches his fourth hospital that doctors finally consent to admit him, preparing for an emergency operation to remove a blood clot from his brain.