Manuel Perez Tajada
March 11, 20
The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Showing The Way of Life
The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu are two completely different movies. The style, structure, and content are from complete different sides of the spectrum, yet both movies are extremely popular with the public. They dramatically changed the way films were made and added contributions that consumers enjoy experiencing repeatedly such as long takes, and bullet-time shots. The protagonists in each movie go through many struggles and must choose between quitting and persevering through the conflict. Both of them are facing the dangers of society and the system that tries to control them. Despite their differences, the stories they tell about people struggling in life and its unpredictability are a common theme.
This picture depicts The Matrix's famous bullet-time shot and the action found in the movie.
Both The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu use many techniques to tell their story The Matrix uses many references to Alice in Wonderland, the Bible, and Greek mythology in order to tell its story. The movie uses direct quotes and symbols from the Bible and The Odyssey as proved by Carlo Cavagna in her analysis of The Matrix. She talks about how The Matrix alludes to the king of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar and how The Matrix relates to the king’s dream which is about the difference between the “real” world and the “fake” world. In The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Mr. Lazarescu is in pain throughout the movie and the doctors refuse to help him which only causes more pain to him. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu uses Mr. Lazarescu’s crucifixion in comparison to the crucifixion of Christ to try to bring awareness about the medical system and the state of society in Romania (Kennicott). This comparison with the crucifixion of Christ helps Mr. Lazarescu to be seen as a martyr in order to improve the medical system. The movie also uses stereotypes and subtle hints as tools to build the personalities of the many characters in the movie. These allusions to the Bible connect the movies to the many life lessons depicted in the Bible. This tells that the movie has a life lesson like the Bible. The movies tell about how life has its many sacrifices and there may or may not be a reward at the end of an arduous path. Also, people are not in control of their lives. Neo cannot control the conflict between the humans and the machines and how it affects his life. Similarly, Mr. Lazarescu controls the will of the doctors or the disease that is affecting his health. These shows the future is unpredictable and the conclusion to a conflict can be hard to see. Life obviously has its rewards, but as seen in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu it does not have any rewards sometimes.
This picture shows the start of Mr. Lazurescu's sickness
Mr. Lazurescu has gone through much pain and is going to die. He has gotten worse since the pervious picture.
The styles of the directors of The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu differ in camera shots, and the display of the actions of the characters. In The Matrix, the camera shots are hectic and take many different angles to best show the fights between the humans and the machine. An example of the action is found in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX8Y5-BZLaM&fmt=6 (I tried to download the movie, but I could not figure out how to do it). The struggle of the human race throughout the whole movie is vividly displayed. The poverty and despair which the machines have inflicted onto the humans is evident throughout the movie. The determination of main characters in the movie such as Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus eventually bring the first victory to the humans. The Matrix shows that perseverance can lead to victory. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu shows a different path of perseverance. Using the effect of natural lighting and handheld camera, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu creates a more realistic feel than The Matrix. Although the action in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu cannot compare with the The Matrix, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu accurately depicts a long journey of a man and a nurse traveling from hospital to hospital when they could have given up trying to find someone who can save his life. In the end, they do finally find someone, but the rebirth of Mr. Lazarescu after he dies during the movie is unknown. (Kasman) Both movies have their character die within the movie; however, the rebirth is different. Neo goes through a reincarnation and then he returns as the one. This picture is a demonstration of his power after his rebirth. 
This picture shows the poverty the humans are forced into. They are enjoying a food called "Tasty Wheat."
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu uses many techniques to show the arduous quest of life and the frustration it contains. The movie happens in real time and contains many long shots of silence and idle chatting that make the movie seem longer than usual. This depicts life as slow moving and creates a realistic feeling in the movie. Before the illness, Mr. Lazarescu is a man going nowhere in his life. He lives on his pension and slowly decays in this apartment full of cats. This gives a depressing view of life. Similarly, the opening of The Matrix depicts life as boring. Neo starts out as an underpaid worker and a secret life of crime making fake credit cards. Neo’s apartment is a mess and he looks like he is just trying to get by. Unlike The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, The Matrix shows what happens when life gives a person an opportunity to succeed and earn a better life. The Matrix has a positive outlook on life and its rewards while The Death of Mr. Lazarescu has a negative outlook on life and its troubles.
The Matrix and The Death of Mr. Lazarescu give an important message about life to the audience. They explain that an ordeal in life has its difficulties and a person can quit the ordeal at anytime. In The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, the nurse could have sent Mr. Lazarescu back home after many failed attempts to have a doctor cure him. In The Matrix, Neo could have stopped believing in himself and taken the other pill. If he did that, he chose to quit the challenge life threw at him. He also could have not believed in himself. Through the decisions of the characters and the storyline, the movies display how life is unpredictable and has disappointments, accomplishments, and uncertainties.
Works Cited
Cavagna, Carlo. “The Matrix(1999).” AboutFilm.com. 3 March 2009.
Kasman, Daniel. “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu..” D-Kaz. 3 March 2009.
Kennicott, Philip. “Romanian Film's Crystalline Lens.” The Washington Post. 3 March 2009.
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