L'Ultimo Turno

As a nurse, I can confirm that there are many shifts on many wards just like this. A lot of the work happening between scenes was left out, and a few corners were definitely cut. I work in a different setting, and I have deep respect for every colleague who can handle that kind of work for more than just a few days. It could be such a beautiful profession - if it weren't being destroyed by greed, ignorance, and systemic violence. Sadly, many people still have no idea what it really takes to keep going.

Fewer and fewer people are even interested in learning this kind of work anymore.

Good luck trying to fix that with AI....

From Switzerland comes Heldin, directed by Swiss Petra Biondina Volpe and starring the wonderful Leonie Benesch.

The film takes us through a chaotic shift at a hospital, playing the role of nurse Fiora. The film is an intense drama with thriller overtones, brilliantly directed and even better performed by its lead character.

It's a fast-paced film that unfolds with the frenzy of a chaotic day in an emergency room. The film is intense, captivating, heartbreaking, and empathetic. It explores a sensitive character overwhelmed by the chaos of a difficult and agonizing workday. Leonie Benesch is the pure substance of the film, and between its successes and its flaws, the actress carries the entire weight on her shoulders with a character who is simultaneously human, overwhelmed, and warm, creating a complete connection between the protagonist and the audience.

We become Fliora's shadow, and this journey is intelligently guided by the director, who doesn't skimp on delivering pure tension that's at times tiring and frenetic. Petra Volpe's direction is astute and uncompromising, taking you from one extreme to the other without pause, making you live and feel the same as the protagonist with well-executed and thoughtful direction. You set off on a path and it doesn't take long for you to climb into the rhythm, already on the cusp of its final climax.

A great film that deserves every moment we give it. It's true that it's not perfect and has moments where it seems to lose its way, but the result is undoubtedly satisfying. The film manages to rise from its lowest moments and further elevate the intensity of its plot with the cleverness of knowing where to insert the most tense moments, accompanied by a precise and complementary soundtrack.

It's a film that won't bore you and will make you feel the message that the film doesn't hide about the shortcomings of the healthcare system and, in turn, about the resilience of its true protagonists.

This film review is dedicated to nurse Miri and male nurse Jörg, who selflessly supported me during those difficult days in March a few years ago. Unforgotten and with great gratitude!

The Swiss film by Petra VOLPE follows nurse Floria Lind (Leonie BENESCH) during her late shift at a hospital near Basel. The ward where Floria works is chronically understaffed. On top of that, someone is absent due to illness. Selflessly, the young nurse tries to do justice to her diverse patients, some of whom are terminally ill. Like a thriller, events escalate during this particular late shift and culminate in a special action.

Making the late shift the subject of a film was a wise decision by the director. The patients are still awake and venting their despair. The doctors and nurses of the day are exhausted and are clamoring for their long-awaited end of the day. This special atmosphere is captured brilliantly by the quasi-documentary film, which is in fact a stylized monument to all the self-sacrificing people in hospitals around the world.

Hamburg-born actress Leonie BENESCH (2023 EUROPEAN FILM AWARD: nomination for THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE) plays this role - as usual - phenomenally well. This actress has the potential to appeal to a global audience. She brings an extraordinary radiance and inner truth to her characters - whether in television series such as BABYLON BERLIN and THE SWARM or in cinematic masterpieces such as THE WHITE RIBBON, THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE, and SEPTEMBER 5. It's regrettable that former festival director Carlo CHATRIAN had neither a competition slot available for THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE in 2023 nor one for SEPTEMBER 5 in 2024. The fact that the then BERLINALE director failed to recognize the potential of these performances by Leonie BENESCH remains a tragic oversight. However, it's a bad sign that the new BERLINALE director, Tricia TUTTLE, was also unable to find a place for the third consecutive Leonie BENESCH classic in the Berlin Film Festival's competition. Not a good prospect for the future of the BERLINALE!

This film from German-speaking Switzerland is something truly special that shouldn't be missed! Be sure to see it on the big screen, if possible!

A very realistic depiction of the everyday professional life of a nurse. The atmosphere in the film is excellent, so much anxiety, stress and lack of time, that it often causes a raw mixture of emotions in the viewer. From anger, tension, to sympathy with the main character and hope for people. An excellent choice of characters, where each, in their own way, shows a certain type of human character and each, in their own way, affects the main protagonist. The camera is exceptional and through the entire film fantastically portrays the events almost exclusively following the main character. Dialogues are short, very realistic and meaningful. Leonie Benesh, in the role of the nurse who carries the plot of the film, is fascinating. And the rest of the actors, in the roles of patients, are up to the task. Although, in several moments, I had to collect my thoughts, due to too many memories that certain scenes evoked, the film is really excellent. Perhaps it is not for those who carry too much trauma from the hospital, because there is too little fiction and too much reality.

This is an excellent movie that peeks the door to the challenging and often unseen world of medical workers.

It shattered me into a thousand little pieces, because this is what really happens.

I'm not a healthcare professional, but you don't have to be one to understand the incredible work doctors do every single day. The director managed to show us a glimpse of their daily reality with honesty and care.

Thanks to every doctor who chose this difficult path to be there when we need it most.

And the original title, Heldin - meaning heroine - fits the film much better. Because real heroes don't wear capes. They wear blue scrubs and a pair of worn white sneakers...