When Martín Kraut read a report in a newspaper in 2012, about two Uruguayan nurses that had confessed to having been euthanizing various patients in a clinic in Montevideo, he realized he had found the core idea for a film. As he followed the development of the Uruguayan tale, his own parallel scripts were taking him into wildly darker places, differing from the factual story.
In ‘The Dose’, Marcos Roldán (the compelling Carlos Portaluppi) is an experienced nurse who has worked the night shift at the ICU of a small private clinic for 20 years. He is a compassionate professional, but he carries a secret, sometimes, in extreme cases, he applies euthanasia. His non-eventful and structured life is turned upside down when a new nurse, Gabriel (beautifully played by Ignacio Rogers) is recruited to the unit. With similar objectives, but with a very different ethos, Gabriel discovers Marcos’ secret. Hiding under a toxic cloak of affability and seduction, Gabriel insinuates and manipulates himself into the lives of his colleagues, the nurse Noelia, and in particular Roldán. Gabriel wants to live up to his name, but with a very different agenda.
Carlos Portaluppi as Marcos and Lorena Vega as Noelia
The director Martín Kraut inspired excellent performances from the three leads, taking the audience into a dark world. ‘The Dose’ starts out as a hospital drama, but it is gradually transformed into the dark world of a psychological thriller, touching on horror and queer issues and proving to have many layers, while leaving many questions unanswered. It's slow pace emphasizing the tension.
Ignacio Rogers and Carlos Portaluppi
Marcos Roldán is a 50- something nurse. He is overweight and lives on a diet of cheap food and tinned peas that he does not even stop to heat up. He lives in a depressing apartment, but even that is too costly and he has to search for a cheaper place. His whole life revolves around the clinic, he never goes on holidays or out for any entertainment. Gabriel, on the other hand, has the typical profile of a psychopath. He is charismatic, handsome, manipulative, begging the question of how he will behave when he is in a position of power over people’s lives and the opportunity to play god.
Marcos is immediately uncomfortable with the Gabriel’s attitude. Gabriel flatters the older man referring to him as a legend and seduces Noelia, for whom, we gather, Marcos has as soft spot. Nevertheless, Marco is obliged to work with Gabriel on the night shifts and we are invited to question what makes a good man.
Given that only a few days ago, Spain became the 4th European country to legalize euthanasia (in certain circumstances), a film like ‘The Dose’, that touches on the ethics and morality of this thorny issue, is timely indeed. As the Spanish Socialist Prime Minister stated: “Today we have become a country that is more humane, fairer and freer”. Yet, in many parts of the world, the subject of Euthanasia remains taboo. In Europe, the countries that have legalized Euthanasia include Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, while Austria, Finland and Norway allow passive euthanasia for incurable diseases. But in the rest of the world there are very few, like New Zealand, or in the Americas, Canada and Colombia.
Alberto Suárez and the team
In ‘The Dose,’ the audience is challenged to face opposing attitudes to death. Right from the start, this accomplished opera prima throws us into a world enveloped with sickness, suffering, death and loneliness where antibiotics and antiseptics can have no effect. Marcos Roldán’s humanity is in evidence from the very first scene, where he continues to resuscitate a terminally-ill patient, after the others have given up. When he succeeds, the doctor simply states:
“Well done, Roldán, now she will live one more week.”
While Roldán is not prepared to euthanize patient who still have hope, he is not averse to helping others along the way on compassionate grounds. As lead actor Carlos Portaluppi stated in interview with Oscar Ranzani:
“My character is dark because, even though he is motivated by compassion and humanitarian causes, what he does is still considered a criminal act, according to our law.”
In part, Portaluppi was attracted to the role because he has had personal experience of the complexities of life within an ICU. His sister spent a lot of time in an ICI after a succession of complicated operations. There were times when the resources were so limited that supplies had to be brought in from outside, but despite that, he was very moved by the dedication and the warmth of the medical staff that cared for her. In much the same way, the current pandemic has revealed the sorrowful lack of resources and preparedness to face the situation we are in. The evidence has shown that these logistical problems have been found even in rich countries, not only in those with few resources.
Carlos Portaluppi
Cases of illegal euthanasia have been discovered in many parts of the world including Japan and Germany. In the USA, one individual euthanized more than 40 patients in critical care in ICUs over a period of 20 years, while another has just been condemned for killing hundreds. His modus operandi was to move hospitals every time his colleagues got suspicious. The case about which Kraut spotted about the Uruguayan nurses was eventually dropped due to a lack of corroborating evidence. With this film therefore, Kraut is actively encouraging a debate about how far one should or could listen to patients who cannot improve their condition and are being obliged to live with intolerable pain and suffering and who want help to die.
‘The Dose’ also reveals the demanding condition in which these nurses have to work. Their time in the intensive care units is intense, with long hours under stress coupled with appalling pay. In the film, Marcos Roldán lives off cold tinned peas, for that is all he has time for. He lives alone, in inadequate housing, for that is all he can afford and yet, these are the people who have people’s lives in their hands so much of the time.
Lorena Vega and Carlos Portaluppi
Martín Kraut has created an atmospheric production where the location became a character in the movie. It is carefully structured and designed with the green-grey dim night lighting adding to the claustrophobia. There is so little movement in the unit, that it’s as if the individuals are always working alone, permeating the scene with a sensation of other worldliness. Nurses and supervisors inhabit a glass office in the unit, from which they watch their patients, but in the end, they are also incarcerated by the conditions. All the while, the profound solitude and loneliness of Marcos’ life is emphasized by the presence of Gabriel, who creepily befriends him, more in search of an ally than a friend. Ironically, Gabriel runs over a dog by accident, but they both leave it to die in the street.
When the high death toll attracts an investigation of the Intensive Care Unit, Roldan’s subsequent attempts to rectify the situation put him in grave danger. Martín Kraut’s debut feature ‘The Dose’ is a suspenseful production, that shows much promise and talent. We look forward to further works.
‘The Dose’ premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and has been screened at festivals around the world Including Fantasia International Film Festival and the BFI Flare London LGBTQ+ Film festival. It won the Heartland Horror Award at the Heartland Festival USA.
‘The Dose’ has been taken on by Samuel Goldwyn Films for all media in the USA (http://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/la-dosis/). International sales are with Oration Films. European and UK sales are still pending. Watch this space.
Martín Kraut and Pablo Chernov
The Dose (La Dosis 2020)
Writer/Director Martín Kraut
Producer Pablo Chernov
DOP Gustavo Biazzi
Editor Eliane D Katz ( SAE)
Art director Juan Giribaldi
Sound Design Manuel de Andrés ( ASA) Tritón Sonido
Original music Juan Tobal
CAST
Lorena Vega Noelia
Ignacio Rogers Gabriel
Carlos Portaluppi Marcos Roldán
Alberto Suárez Dr Lorenzo
Investigators Arturo Bonín and Ernesto Rowe
Gonzalo Martinez Dr Duré
German de Silva Gerardo/ Patient
