grumpy old man

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The Death of Mister Lazarescu – A Dying Man in Real-Time

Mr Lazarescu

The Death of Mister Lazarescu Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Meet Mister Lazarescu. He’s an old man living in an Communist-era apartment block in Bucharest with some cats. Problem is, he’s an alcoholic, and his last few drinks are sending him over the edge of life. Join him in his last few hours as he navigates the bureaucratic Romanian health system. It’s his last nightmare and one to put you off drinking for life.

From: Romania, Europe
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The Retirement – Latin American Competition – SBIFF

This is an Argentinian take of the ‘grumpy old man facing an unwanted situation that forces him to open up his heart’ story. In this case, it’s a old man entering retirement as a widow who wants to be left alone. However, his housekeeper disappears leaving him to look after her young son.

He faces a lot of opposition from his daughter in his choice to take care of the kid on behalf of his housekeeper. The way he spoils him makes his daughter jealous – he’s being the dad she didn’t get have because he was so obsessed with work. As per convention, the grumpy old man learns to love the young boy and opens himself up to learn to love his daughter again.

It’s a heartwarming film about retirement and life as an old widow. Perfect if you don’t want to think much. However, if you’re looking for something more than a film about grumpy old man that is forced to open his heart, you’ll probably be disappointed. The tropes are mostly obvious and expected. And when they’re not, they feel out of place and manipulative – such as the mum going into labour at the kids school (giving Rodolfo an opportunity to show his caring side to his daughter). It’s careful not to tread new territory. Although to be fair, this mid-range silver cinema fare is being budgeted out of Hollywood cinema these days.

Head to our Santa Barbara International Film Festival Hub for more reviews from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020.