Tautly constructed and intense, Late Shift (Heldin) is a close observation of those who are often overlooked: nurses. Directed by Petra Volpe (The Divine Order), the film stars Leonie Benesch (The Teacher’s Lounge, September 5) as the nurse Floria Lind, following her throughout the late shift at a large hospital. Volpe sets the tone with the opening scene: rows of blue scrubs sliding along an automated laundry rack, all moving forward in the machine, part of the system. Once the uniform is worn, the person ceases to be seen as an individual and instead is defined by her function. The same might be said of the people who come in for diagnosis and treatment, once they put on the hospital gown, they become patients.
That tension, between the individual with feelings, thoughts, wishes, and concerns, and the role they play in the hospital, is a recurring motif throughout the film. Framing the narrative with the first image of Floria as she comes to work by bus, and closing with the final view of Floria as once her shift is over, she rides the bus home, is a reminder that she has an entire life outside the hospital. Once Floria enters the hospital, the film follows her every move, as she changes into scrubs in the locker room, slipping into a new pair of shoes, and chatting with her fellow nurse Bea (Sonja Riesen). Once she leaves the locker room, the shift and its hectic pace begins. As Jan Sharif (Alireza Bayram), the nurse going off shift, rattles off the rather long list of patients, their ailments and status, it feels impossible to remember them all, much less care for so many. To make matters worse, they are short-staffed so Floria and Bea, with the help of Amelie (Selma Aldin), a student nurse, are responsible for all twenty plus patients on the ward.
Some are familiar to Floria, like Herr Leu (Urs Bihler), who has been in the hospital for six days and is waiting to hear his prognosis, or Frau Morina (Lale Yavas), a young mother with advanced cancer who is back in the hospital. Others, like the elderly Frau Kuhn (Margherita Schoch), have just been admitted. Some, like Herr Severin (Jürg Plüss), a private patient who feels his status entitles him to constant attention, can be incredibly annoying. But all have medical needs that must be attended to, and Floria is constantly on the move, struggling to respond to several patients at once.
On the surface, the film is not very different from other hospital dramas, weaving into multiple mini-narratives involving the patients and their interactions with staff. What differentiates Late Shift and makes it stand out is the intense focus on one individual, the nurse Floria Lind, and Leonie Benesch’s compelling performance. Benesch imbues every expression and gesture with depth and nuance, as her hands move swiftly and competently preparing medications, her gaze intense, or taking a moment to quietly listen to a worried man. Floria’s character is revealed as she goes about her tasks, her sense of humor and her compassion, as well as her excellent skills. She is an accomplished professional, but that cannot make up for a hospital ward that is understaffed. It is simply impossible for two nurses to handle so many patients. The pace is frenetic as she rushes from one room to another, and as the pressure mounts, the intensity of her gaze reveals the effort it takes to keep on going.
Late Shift
Written and directed by Petra Volpe; Cinematography: Judith Kaufmann; Editor: Hansjörg Weissbrich; Music: Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch; Cast: Leonie Benesch, Sonja Riesen, Alireza Bayram, Selma Aldin, Urs Bihler, Margherita Schoch, Urbain Guiguemdé, Elisabeth Rolli, Jürg Plüss, Lale Yavas.
