Film Depicting Historical Medical Hero is Hungary’s Oscar Hopeful
Semmelweis, directed by renowned filmmaker Lajos Koltai, has been selected as Hungary’s official submission for Best International Feature to the upcoming 97th Academy Awards.
The film depicts the life of Ignác Semmelweis, the 19th-century Hungarian physician of German extraction whose revolutionary ideas about handwashing and sanitation helped to drastically cut mortality rates of women in Vienna General Hospital’s maternity ward. The good doctor’s pioneering work in the field of antiseptic procedures earned him the title “Savior of Mothers”.
On a Medical Mission
The film takes viewers back to Vienna in 1847 (to a period before Louis Pasteur’s germ theory was accepted) when hospital hygiene was yet to be considered a basic requirement. This led to the doctor’s obstetric ward having three times the mortality rate of the midwives’ wards due to cases of puerperal fever– a bacterial infection in the birth canal. Semmelweis (played by Miklós H. Vecsei) is a dedicated, no-nonsense doctor whose determination to discover the root cause of the deaths pits him against a rigid medical establishment.
Vecsei’s charismatic portrayal of Semmelweis transforms the historical figure into a dynamic protagonist. The screenplay by Balázs Maruszki balances the medical with elements of political and courtroom drama. Semmelweis’s battle is not only against deadly infections but also against a system resistant to change. A subplot involving Emma Hoffman (a fictional midwife played by Katica Nagy sent by the hospital administrator to spy on Semmelweis) increases the stakes as the character’s loyalties start to shift.
The film’s climax, set in an old-fashioned operating theatre turned courtroom, offers a powerful and visually striking scene where Semmelweis defends his radical methods before a sceptical audience. This blend of genres elevates Semmelweis from a straightforward biopic to a gripping, multifaceted drama.
Filmed in Hungary
The director of the film, Lajos Koltai (known for his work as a cinematographer on films such as István Szabó’sMephisto and nominated for an Academy Award for Malena), faced challenges in bringing 19th-century Vienna to life. After a recent screening of the film in Los Angeles, he explained during a Q & A hosted by Gold Derby that there were no streets in Vienna where he could easily shoot the movie. Instead, he built the sets and filmed everything in Hungary. Koltai and the production designers meticulously recreated the historical setting down to the smallest detail–no small feat considering the need to build a hospital setting authentic to the time period.
Semmelweis performed strongly on the domestic market. It clearly resonated with Hungarian audiences and was considered a box-office success. The film received 16 nominations at the Hungarian Motion Picture Awards, ultimately winning six, including Best Feature Film and Best Director for Koltai.
Now that the film has been submitted for consideration as Hungary’s entry for the Academy Awards, we’ll have to wait and see if it progresses to the shortlist stage, announced on December 17th, 2024.
Sources & further information
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