The Death of Mr. Lazarescu enjoyed immediate critical acclaim, both at film festivals, where it won numerous awards, and after wider release, receiving enthusiastic reviews.

[2] Dante Remus Lăzărescu (Ioan Fiscuteanu), a cranky retired engineer, lives alone as a widower with his three cats in a Bucharest apartment.

When the ambulance finally arrives, the nurse, Mioara (Luminița Gheorghiu), dispels the idea that Lăzărescu's ulcer surgery over a decade before could cause this pain.

The hospitals are jammed with injured passengers from a bus accident, but some doctors appear to reject him out of fatigue or because they do not feel like taking care of a smelly old drunkard.

During the night, his only advocate is Mioara, the paramedic who stubbornly stays by him and tries to get him hospitalized and treated, while passively accepting verbal abuse from the doctors who look down on her.

According to Cristi Puiu, he started work on the film after being frustrated by unsuccessfully trying to get grants from the National Council of Cinematography (CNC), a Romanian public institution which is the main provider of financing for filmmaking in Romania.

[3] Both in 2001 and 2003, Cristi Puiu, supported by other young Romanian film directors (such as Nae Caranfil and Cristian Mungiu), accused CNC of directing financing towards the members of its Advising Council, led by Sergiu Nicolaescu, and their protégés.

[4][5][6] In 2003 Puiu wrote in a few weeks the synopsis for a six-film cycle of morality tales, which he called Six stories from the outskirts of Bucharest (including The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu).

[3] Between 2001 and 2003, Cristi Puiu suffered from stress and an exaggerated fear of relatively minor ailments; as a result of his hypochondria, he frequently sought medical help.

The resulting fear of dying made him obsessively collect information on diseases and medication, and he spent much time in doctors' offices and emergency rooms.

[3] In addition, the filmmaker knew of a notorious Romanian case in 1997 of Constantin Nica, a 52-year-old man who, after being sent away from several hospitals, was left in the street by the paramedics and died.

[3] Romanian-American pop singer Margareta Paslaru consented to the use of a couple of songs from her repertoire for both the opening and ending credits in the movie: "Cum e oare" (Telling It Like It Really Is) and "Chemarea marii" (The Waves of the Ocean), respectively.

Duane Byrge in The Hollywood Reporter said that "at two hours and 34 minutes, we, seemingly, also endure his agony",[21] while Kyle Smith in the New York Post wrote that "It's supposed to be about a Kafkaesque experience.