Upper-class geometry professor Juan and his wealthy, married mistress Maria José, driving back from a late-night rendezvous, accidentally hit a cyclist, and run. The resulting, exquisitely shot tale of guilt, infidelity, and blackmail reveals the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Spain, and surveys the corrupt ethics of a society seduced by decadence. Juan Antonio Bardem’s charged melodrama Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista) was a direct attack on 1950s Spanish society under Franco’s rule. Though it was affected by the dictates of censorship, its sting could never be dulled. —The Criterion Collection
Juan Antonio Bardem (2 June 1922, Madrid – 30 October 2002, Madrid) was a Spanish screen writer and film director. He was best known for Muerte de un ciclista (1955) which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, and Calle Mayor (1956). In 1993, he was a member of the jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Bardem is the uncle of actor Javier Bardem. —Wikipedia
An elegant gem of a thumbscrew which playfully scratches at broader issues of class and morality.
Relationships, betrayals, love, revenge and mystery - A perfect Spanish movie with an Antonioniesque take on relationships and their impotency and exposes hypocrisy & lawlessness in Spanish society under Franco's regime. Suspenseful storyline, topnotch acting performances and supreme direction makes it one amazing movie. Highly Recommended!
Thanks to Natalia Caballero for introducing me to the work of Luis Garcia Berlanga. The Executioner. It doesn't sound much like the title
The Criterion Collection release of Juan Antonio Bardem’s classic Spanish thriller, about an adulterous couple who accidentally strike a bicyclist and leave him for dead, for fear their affair will… read review
