MovieChat Forums > I, Daniel Blake (2017) Discussion > The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ?

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ?

posted 8 years ago by Lvka
2 replies | jump to latest

Is this supposed to be the English version of The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ? Or am I way off by even drawing such a comparison in the first place ? What is your opinion ?

[–] Spielburger 8 years ago

Is this supposed to be the English version of The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ? Or am I way off by even drawing such a comparison in the first place ? What is your opinion ?

I think you're probably reading too much into it. I, Daniel Blake is a very personal and angry response by Ken Loach and Paul Laverty to what they see as the failings of the current UK benefits system. However; I can see similarities at a basic level. A number of critics (and indeed Ken Loach himself) have described the situation that Daniel Blake is in as Kafkaesque, in that a decent man is broken by an unfeeling bureaucratic system - albeit one which is sadly only too real. The same can also be said of Mr Lazarescu, who - I believe - was loosely based on the real case of Constantin Nica; a Romanian who died after being repeatedly turned away from hospitals.

--
"So I've got bullets, but no gun. That's quite Zen."

[–] gortx 8 years ago

Hey, I had the same thought while watching Daniel Blake! But, I doubt that Director Loach or his collaborators were influenced by MR. L. But, for us cineastes, it definitely came to mind.