I usually struggle with long historical dramas; if it’s over two hours, I’m checking my watch, nodding off, or silently plotting my escape. But this one surprised me. Its two-hour runtime passed in one sitting, and I didn’t even blink.
Synopsis(possible spoilers)
Set in Vienna in 1847, the film follows Ignac Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor who becomes obsessed with uncovering the cause of childbed fever(puerperal), a disease killing mothers at an alarming rate. Working in the maternity clinics, he begins to suspect that something as simple as handwashing might be the key to saving lives. But when he challenges the established medical order, his theories are mocked and dismissed, forcing him to fight not just for recognition but for the lives of countless women.
My Review and Rating
The first thing that drew me in was the setting. The hospital rooms, the dimly lit corridors, the muted tones of candlelight bouncing off wooden walls, everything felt alive, textured and believable. Not polished but it was grimy and human, like you could almost smell the blood and hear the echo of the cries of women and their babies. Somehow, it felt like time traveling to the 1840s when there was no real medical care like we have now. It felt like torture.
And the costumes? Absolutely captivating. The doctors’ bloodstained hands, no gloves, the midwives’ aprons, the rich fabrics of the upper class, every detail just felt intentional. The color palette stayed earthy and muted, grounding you in the grit and realism of the time. Nothing felt overdesigned or theatrical; it was honest to the period and made the world feel tangible.
Another thing that struck me was how raw this movie felt. It doesn’t sanitize the ugliness of its subject. You literally see the fear, the loss, the heartbreak. It’s not afraid to show death, the dissections of dead bodies, to linger on the human cost of ignorance. There’s a quiet desperation in the way Semmelweis, the eponymous character, moves through the story. He is a man fueled by obsession, by guilt, by the unbearable weight of being right too soon.
It’s not a movie that thrives on action or dramatic highs. Instead, it breathes. It lets you sit with discomfort and absorb the humanity in every frame. That’s rare.
There's no doubt that this film is slow. It takes its time to build, to make you understand the stakes, to live inside the world it’s recreating. But that slow pacing worked. I’m not usually patient with two-hour films, but here, I didn’t even feel the minutes pass. Every scene seemed necessary, not rushed, not padded but carefully arranged to make you feel something real.
That said, the film isn’t flawless. The romance subplot with the midwife was predictable, almost unnecessary in such a tight moral drama. I desperately wished my prediction would be incorrect but they didn’t disappoint me. There were moments I wished the story dug deeper into the politics of medicine rather than just the personal anguish.
But I guess those are small blemishes in an otherwise absorbing film.
Rating: 7.8/10
I completely disagree with this statement
Anyway, if you love historical dramas that feel real, the kind where you can feel the moral tension in the air, this is for you. It’s especially for viewers who enjoy stories about obsession, discovery and the price of being right before the world is ready to listen. But if you crave fast-paced drama or modern dialogue, you might find yourself tapping your foot.