The film was shot in 39 nights in real hospitals. It was edited in 38 days.
The main character's full name is Dante Remus Lazarescu. It has multiple connotations and possible meanings: Italian poet Dante Alighieri wrote in his "Divine Comedy" of the circles of hell. Remus was a co-founder of ancient Rome, killed by his twin. 'Lazarescu' reminds us of the biblical character Lazarus, who was lucky enough to find someone who could raise him from the dead. At the same time, 'Lazarescu' is a very common surname in Romania. The second forename 'Remus' is not quite as common, but does exist in Romania. Only the Italian forename Dante is rather unusual for Romania.
The movie is the first in a series of 6 feature-length films that Cristi Puiu will direct, entitled "Stories From the Suburbs of Bucharest".
Acclaimed director Mike Leigh prepared in 2010 a list of his 10 favorite films for the website top10films.co.uk and included Der Tod des Herrn Lazarescu (2005) as his No.5. [Feb. 2010]
No. 5 on The New York Times' "The 25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far" list, created by film critics Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott. [June 9, 2017]