According to a recent study, there will be a massive shortage of 40,000 nurses in Switzerland by the year 2040. This shocking statement provides the backdrop for Petra Volpe’s new film, a drama revolving around one ‘late shift’ in a massively understaffed Swiss surgical ward.
Leonie Benesch (September 5) is Floria, a lead nurse in the ward in an unnamed hospital. She is just one of two nurses charged with overseeing the busy ward and the daily demands of the patients, relatives and doctors. Floria is working with Bea, and has twenty-six beds to look after on the busy ward, as well as overseeing newbie medical student Amelie, who has joined them for the day. It is evident that both nurses are excellent at what they do, note-perfect in their jobs, and flawless with the execution of their duties. We follow Floria’s every move – whether it be dealing with new admissions, ensuring that patients get their medications on time or ready to be taken into theatre for surgery.
This is a typical day in the life of one of these nurses, and across the ward, there are needs in every room. Floria’s patients include Mr Osmani, a new patient who is late for his operation; a nervous Mr Nana who is waiting to be taken for a CT scan, and Mr Leu, who is worrying about his dog, who has been left all alone at home when he was admitted. There’s also a private patient, Mr Severin, an entitled individual who hasn’t told his wife about him being in the hospital and who has just received word that his newly discovered illness is terminal. There’s also Mr Schneider, who is an end-of-life patient, unconscious in his bed with his devoted daughter constantly by his side, and Mrs Bilgin who has a serious illness and is waiting for doctor to see her. A lot is going on, and Volpe’s film follows Floria from the start to the end of her shift on this typically frantic day, keeping level-headed as questions and problems are fired her way every second.
Directed and scripted by Volpe, Late Shift is a work of incredible detail, perfectly acted by emerging star Benesch, who herself did an internship on an actual surgical ward before filming. This is evident in her performance, as every move is made with confidence and accuracy, the actor brilliant as the young nurse battling against everything thrown her way during the busy shift. We feel her burden, Volpe constantly upping the tension as the film progresses, though the stress is never seen on the face of the nurse, Flora taking the heat throughout, all of the way to near breaking point in the film’s final real.
The meticulous camerawork, excellent music backing and production design elevate this beyond anything televisual which it could easiliy be compared to. The film shines a big light the heroes on the frontline of healthcare and on a crisis which, though set in Switzerland, could easily be targeted to any surrounding country, including the UK’s buckling NHS.
Volpe’s film shares that important message, but also manages to deliver a bold, tension-packed narrative feature that’ll have you involved from start to finish.
Late Shift was reviewed at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.
Late Shift
Summary
Late Shift highlights the crippling Swiss nursing crisis; a tense, deeply involving feature with a brilliant central performance by Leonie Benesch.
