Hippocrates (Hippocrate)

Friday, March 6, 2015

North American Premiere

Following up his debut feature, 2007’s Les yeux bandés, Thomas Lilti takes us inside a Paris hospital—an environment he knows well, being a practicing doctor himself. Novice doctor Benjamin (Vincent Lacoste), interning in his father’s ward, makes a rookie mistake that costs a patient his life. The administration quickly covers up his wrongdoing, but the dead man’s wife begins asking questions and Benjamin’s overworked colleagues resent his nepotism. Reda Kateb (A Prophet, Zero Dark Thirty) provides the film’s moral center as Abdel, a skilled physician forced to work as an intern due to his immigrant status, struggling mightily and alone to place patient welfare ahead of staff impunity. Recalling both Arthur Hiller’s The Hospital in its cynical view of the profession and Maïwenn’s Polisse in its tough depiction of state institutions, Lilti’s biting dramedy posits that “Hippocratic” and “hypocrite” share more than linguistic affinities. Winner of the César Award for Best Supporting Actor and nominated for six other Césars, including Best Film. A Distrib Films release.

Additional screening March 13 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Part of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2015

• Country France
• Language In French with English subtitles
• Rating NR
• Running Time 102 minutes
• Director Thomas Lilti

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