Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.
THE EXECUTIONER
El verdugo
Synopsis
In Franco-era Spain, José Luis cannot find a girlfriend because he works in a funeral parlor. Meanwhile, Carmen cannot find a boyfriend because her father is an executioner. But after the two lost souls meet and marry, José Luis is coaxed into taking over his father-in-law’s grim profession.
Synopsis
In Franco-era Spain, José Luis cannot find a girlfriend because he works in a funeral parlor. Meanwhile, Carmen cannot find a boyfriend because her father is an executioner. But after the two lost souls meet and marry, José Luis is coaxed into taking over his father-in-law’s grim profession.
Our take
A classic of Spanish cinema, Luis García Berlanga’s acerbic farce also stars Nino Manfredi, an icon of the commedia all’italiana films. Taking aim at the Francoist regime and capital punishment, this Kafkaesque descent into the pit of bureaucratic indifference is equal parts hilarious and tragic.