11. THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU
 
Romania
dir. Cristi Puiu
world premiere 2005
U.S. release 2006
 

 
Because Dante Remus Lazarescu's allegorically loaded name cannot help him. His yen for drink and his sour, corpulent body can't, either, yet none of this turns the film against him. Puiu finds compassion in spaces where you'd settle for a good 60-watt lightbulb, yet it's not some sentimental paean; it holds fast to a pragmatic intelligence.