Late Shift

This film hit me deeply - not just as a viewer, but as someone who has seen parts of this world up close, though never from the inside. It's a quietly devastating portrait of a healthcare system where staff are constantly overwhelmed, and patients often reduced to numbers. The film is restrained in its tone but unflinching in its realism.

For medical professionals, especially those who have worked in underfunded hospitals, this might feel less like cinema and more like déjà vu. A person close to me worked in multiple hospitals over the years and immediately recognized the emotional detachment that can become necessary when death is a regular occurrence - not because you stop caring, but because the system gives you no room to act otherwise. For them, the film was not emotional but eerily accurate - a reflection of shifts they'd rather forget.

But for viewers like me - those who've only seen the burnout and emotional toll secondhand - the film was powerful, even overwhelming at times. I found myself on the verge of tears multiple times, not only out of empathy for the patients but also out of frustration and deep respect for the caregivers who navigate this impossible environment.

The acting is superbly naturalistic, with a rawness that serves the film's themes perfectly. The sound design and score are minimal but poignant, never pushing emotion but allowing it to surface organically. This is not a feel-good film - far from it - but it's an essential one. It asks not only how we treat the sick and dying, but how we treat those who care for them.

If you're looking for comfort, look elsewhere. But if you're ready to see what "broken system" truly means, this film will stay with you.

This film review is dedicated to nurse Miri and male nurse Jörg, who selflessly supported me during those difficult days in March a few years ago. Unforgotten and with great gratitude!

The Swiss film by Petra VOLPE follows nurse Floria Lind (Leonie BENESCH) during her late shift at a hospital near Basel. The ward where Floria works is chronically understaffed. On top of that, someone is absent due to illness. Selflessly, the young nurse tries to do justice to her diverse patients, some of whom are terminally ill. Like a thriller, events escalate during this particular late shift and culminate in a special action.

Making the late shift the subject of a film was a wise decision by the director. The patients are still awake and venting their despair. The doctors and nurses of the day are exhausted and are clamoring for their long-awaited end of the day. This special atmosphere is captured brilliantly by the quasi-documentary film, which is in fact a stylized monument to all the self-sacrificing people in hospitals around the world.

Hamburg-born actress Leonie BENESCH (2023 EUROPEAN FILM AWARD: nomination for THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE) plays this role - as usual - phenomenally well. This actress has the potential to appeal to a global audience. She brings an extraordinary radiance and inner truth to her characters - whether in television series such as BABYLON BERLIN and THE SWARM or in cinematic masterpieces such as THE WHITE RIBBON, THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE, and SEPTEMBER 5. It's regrettable that former festival director Carlo CHATRIAN had neither a competition slot available for THE TEACHER'S LOUNGE in 2023 nor one for SEPTEMBER 5 in 2024. The fact that the then BERLINALE director failed to recognize the potential of these performances by Leonie BENESCH remains a tragic oversight. However, it's a bad sign that the new BERLINALE director, Tricia TUTTLE, was also unable to find a place for the third consecutive Leonie BENESCH classic in the Berlin Film Festival's competition. Not a good prospect for the future of the BERLINALE!

This film from German-speaking Switzerland is something truly special that shouldn't be missed! Be sure to see it on the big screen, if possible!

A very realistic depiction of the everyday professional life of a nurse. The atmosphere in the film is excellent, so much anxiety, stress and lack of time, that it often causes a raw mixture of emotions in the viewer. From anger, tension, to sympathy with the main character and hope for people. An excellent choice of characters, where each, in their own way, shows a certain type of human character and each, in their own way, affects the main protagonist. The camera is exceptional and through the entire film fantastically portrays the events almost exclusively following the main character. Dialogues are short, very realistic and meaningful. Leonie Benesh, in the role of the nurse who carries the plot of the film, is fascinating. And the rest of the actors, in the roles of patients, are up to the task. Although, in several moments, I had to collect my thoughts, due to too many memories that certain scenes evoked, the film is really excellent. Perhaps it is not for those who carry too much trauma from the hospital, because there is too little fiction and too much reality.

What a ride. More importantly, what a REAL, HARD-HITTING ride. At just 90 minutes, the film not only manages to strike an emotional chord but also tells the stories of so many people suffering various illness, through the POV of Floria (Leonie Benesch). That too, while carefully placing a spotlight on the real-world crisis of nurse shortage. Floria's really committed to her job, and it's shown to us through her interactions with several patients in the ward, including sweet ones, stubborn ones, depressing / terminally ill ones, and even the "entitled" ones. Director Petra Volpe closely follows Floria as she navigates a rather hectic evening, filled with spontaneous requests, immense pressure of follow-ups, and even having to deal with personal dilemmas.

The beauty of the storytelling lies in giving us tidbits of information on Floria and her patients, making the each incidental revelation all the more impactful. Leonie Benesch puts in a fantastic performance -- one that's sure to linger in my head for a very long time for the subtleties alone. And as much as I hate being physically at a hospital, the film aggravated that feeling with its solid sound design and cinematography (characterized by long shots). This unprecedented health crisis is alarming, and I hope the world is taking notes. Late Shift, for me, is cinema mirroring life.

This is an excellent movie that peeks the door to the challenging and often unseen world of medical workers.

It shattered me into a thousand little pieces, because this is what really happens.

I'm not a healthcare professional, but you don't have to be one to understand the incredible work doctors do every single day. The director managed to show us a glimpse of their daily reality with honesty and care.

Thanks to every doctor who chose this difficult path to be there when we need it most.

And the original title, Heldin - meaning heroine - fits the film much better. Because real heroes don't wear capes. They wear blue scrubs and a pair of worn white sneakers...