Sixth session of the Luis García Berlanga retrospective, with the screening of The Executioner (1963).

06 APR | SUN | 5PM

EL VERDUGO | THE EXECUTIONER

Luis García Berlanga | ESP | 1963 | 95'

Probably Luis García Berlanga's most famous film and one of the central works of Spanish cinema, El Verdugo continues in the same vein of criticism of Francoist society that has marked the filmmaker's career since his debut. His characteristic black humour is elevated to the absurd here: a cowardly young man falls in love with the daughter of an executioner and, by marrying her, is forced to take over the profession of his father-in-law, who is about to retire, to ensure that they will be entitled to live in a council apartment. While reflecting on the death penalty, El Verdugo explores the dilemmas and contradictions of a character – and a society – driven into a dead end."