Semmelweis

This film tells a beautiful story with using a few clichés that make this movie only good. It's the kind of film you have probably watched several times, but I think it's worth watching, because few movies give you the joy this one has. The acting performances are great except for the little daughter. I could not understand half of what she said. It's well-shot, well-edited, the production and costume design is amazing. Lajos Koltai proves that he is a good director, but this film is kind of monotonous, slow. It can be boring ometimes and it's very predictable. Overall the film is good, but it could've been a lot better.

I'm quite disappointed to be honest. The technical side of the movie is totally ok. A little bit claustrophobic for me as basically there are no open spaces in the movie but still technically the film is ok.

The real downside is the storyline itself. Basically nothing was as it's in the movie. The whole austrian-hungarian rivalry is a lie. Klein did not even exist. As such the whole laundry scandal is made up too. Emma is fictional too just as the espionage line. The autopsy of Kolletschka wasn't preformed by Semmelweis as he wasn't even in the country at the time of Kolletschka's death. Semmelweis only studied the notes of the autopsy. As such it couldn't not be a scandal.

If you watch the movie you just see a brainless propaganda movie. It's an absolute disgrace that wants you to think that mean austrians mistreated a hungarian genius just because his nationality. It's not better than those stupid soviet heroic movies.

Too bad that the filmmakers made a cheap and dumb propaganda movie instead of a historically accurate objective adaptation. Semmelweis should deserve more than that.

I've got to admit, overall, there were parts of the movie that really worked for me. The cinematography, the original score, visual effects, costume design, locations, set planning, even the furniture-all of it was seriously well done. The color palette and scene composition were beautiful, and the settings felt authentic and thoughtfully put together. It really gave off a strong, believable vibe of the era.

As for the acting... aside from a few seasoned standouts like László Gálffi, Lajos Kovács, Anna György, and maybe Ferenc Elek, it felt a bit shaky. Semmelweis himself came across as overacted and a bit immature. The younger cast members either overdid it or lacked presence. Makes you wonder if that's on the director or maybe the casting choices?

Costume design deserves another shout-out-it was excellent. The cinematography really helped highlight the period details in the sets and wardrobe.

That said, it's kind of a shame that the film is overwhelmed by melodramatic characters and lines. The key scenes are sometimes way too basic, or they hinge on overly dramatic "quotes" that just don't land.

Also, Semmelweis is constantly sweating-like, drenched. I'm not quite sure why that choice was made. Maybe there's a deeper meaning behind it, but if there is, it went over my head.

The story line is close to what happened in real life. Missing the coroner from the real life story though. Excellent actors and hope Koltai will win an Oscar with this film.

Semmelweis' story shows that simple being curious, observational and logical can result in life-changing discoveries. The film also shows how some peoples believe they are above others, and the not so straightforward Austrian-Hungarian relationship. A worthwhile film to watch.

Let's hope this Hungarian film about the savior of all mothers and hospital patients will be recognized and enjoyed by the international audience. 👍

Semmelweis was indeed a admirable historical figure, but the movie has added too much romanticized fantasy to the story up to the point where some people would shout "historical inauthenticity".

I understand the need to dramatise the story for the moviegoer audience, but some casting accuracies and factual authenticity wouldn't have hurt the overall enjoyability of the film, but at the same time the struggle of that particular era was really palpable.

In general it was a movie to be seen once, but it won't become a cinema classic, but compromises between drama, authenticity and production budget led to this outcome. You should watch it at least once, to see why science is held back by authority.