Semmelweis2023

Director
Lajos Koltai

Actors

Miklos H. Vecsei (Semmelweis Ignac)
Katica Nagy (Emma Hoffman)
Laszlo Galffi (Klein)
Tamas Kovacs (Ferdinand Kollar)
Timea Virga (Helga)
Blanka Meszaros (Julia)

In mid of XIX century a mysterious epidemic is raging in a maternity clinic in Vienna, while the doctor Ignác Semmelweis tries to defeat puerperal fever by going against all traditional theories.
Vienna, 1847, Ignac Semmelweis, the short-tempered but passionate Hungarian doctor delivers babies and carries out autopsies on a daily basis whilst looking for the cause of puerperal fever, the mysterious epidemic that decimates patients in the hospital. His boss prohibits him from conducting research into the subject and sends his right-hand man to cross him at every turn. He also threatens a young midwife, Emma Hoffmann, to spy on him. After a rocky start, the relationship between Semmelweis and Emma develops into a romance. When Semmelweis’s friend gets wounded mid-autopsy and dies with the same symptoms as the women in labour, Semmelweis discovers the cause and prevention of childbed fever. Half of his peers discredit him, yet he carries on with the fight to prove his theory at all cost.
“’Semmelweis’ is a superb cinematic trip that transforms a potentially boring historical medical narrative into an engaging, multilayered investigation of scientific innovation. The film goes beyond standard biographical dramas with superb performances, unique genre-blending, and a deep commitment to storytelling.” – Gazettely
“A valuable film that restores dignity and memory to an important, yet little-remembered, historical figure.” – L’occhio del cineasta