Oscar Nominee Lajos Koltai on Returning to the Director’s Chair After Nearly Two Decades for Period Biopic ‘Semmelweis’
variety.comChristopher Vourlias It’s been more than 15 years since Oscar-nominated cinematographer and director Lajos Koltai (“Fateless,” “Malena”) helmed his last film, “Evening” (2007), a poignant meditation on mortality, regret and womanhood that featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close, Eileen Atkins and Meryl Streep, and was released domestically by Focus Features.
For his return to the director’s chair, the Hungarian-born filmmaker also returns closer to home with “Semmelweis,” a period biopic drama about a Hungarian doctor who turns the medical establishment on its head in 19th-century Vienna.
The film opens the 21st Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles, which runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 2 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center. “Semmelweis” is set in 1847, as a mysterious epidemic is raging in a maternity clinic in Vienna.
The film follows the Hungarian-born doctor Ignác Semmelweis, played by rising Hungarian actor Miklos H. Vecsei, in a race against the clock to solve the mystery and save lives while clashing with the city’s medical establishment.
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