Date with Cinema. “El verdugo” (The Executioner)
The virtual film club Date with Cinema concludes its 2025 program with one of the masterpieces of classic Spanish cinema, The Executioner, directed by the award-winning filmmaker Luis García Berlanga.
In this 1963 black comedy, Berlanga uses his trademark irony to challenge Francoist society, satirizing the era’s circumstances through humor.
Synopsis: José Luis is a young funeral home employee who, while performing a service at a prison, meets an executioner named Amadeo who is about to retire. When José Luis returns the professional toolkit Amadeo had forgotten, he also meets his daughter Carmen, whom no one wants to marry due to her father’s profession. The couple quickly hits it off, and after being caught in a compromising situation with Carmen by her father, José Luis is forced to marry her.
[Source: Berlanga Catalogue, la risa amarga]
The event is moderated by staff from the Instituto Cervantes and features participation from professionals involved in the making of the film (filmmakers, screenwriters, etc.).
Enjoy the best cinema in Spanish!