Death of a Bureaucrat (1966)
…………………………………………………
Death of a Bureaucrat Movie Review
Death of a Bureaucrat is a 1966 Cuban comedy film directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea and starring Salvador Wood. It is an exceptional, thematically rich comedy.
An inventor’s widow has a nephew exhume his body after communists bury it with his union card. He then has to go through numerous offices and many different people to get the necessary documents. This is one of the most important Cuban films of all time and for many great reasons. It is such a gloriously hilarious, but also disturbing take on communism and how ridiculous and also frustrating it is to live under such a regime.
………………………………………………….
………………………………………………….
The highlight of this picture is the writer-director’s take on bureaucracy itself. As somebody who has lived in a post-communist country myself, I can attest to this movie’s unfortunate realism. Yes, everything is taken up a notch in terms of over-the-top elements and situations, but the core issue remains very much true to life.
As we see the protagonist go through so many offices and workers there, we get the idea that none of them know what they’re doing. Every communist country ran offices like this, resulting in so much endless chaos and frustration that is bordering on panic and despair. Getting anything done in these buildings will take you hours worth of patience and bravery.
Death of a Bureaucrat is also an incredible technical achievement. The score is superb, the editing masterful, and the black-and-white cinematography stark and confident at capturing the most important details and angles throughout. There is a sense of paranoia and utter despair that is perfectly captured here, though it did come at the expense of the comedy a bit. It’s a funny film for sure, but it could have been even funnier given the subject matter.
………………………………………………….
………………………………………………….
Salvador Wood is very charismatic and memorable in the main role. He elevated quite a bit what is otherwise a fairly thinly drawn character. Another standout aspect of the film is the direction from Tomas Gutierrez Alea. This is a man who obviously knew his stuff, which resulted in a rich text full of incredible, lovely allusions to cinematic geniuses of the past with Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Luis Bunuel getting the most obvious and potent references. There is also terrific homage to ‘The Trial’ in its suspenseful tone and ominous imagery.
Death of a Bureaucrat is a masterful Cuban comedy that gloriously lampoons not just communism, but also unnecessary bureaucracy in all of its frustrating idiocy. The sequence where the protagonist has to go through so much overly complicated administrative procedure is incredible how relatable and realistic it is. It’s a funny, but also suspenseful film that is fittingly fueled by a tone of despair and madness. It’s also a technically arresting feature thanks to gorgeous cinematography and superb directing from Tomas Gutierrez Alea, who infused this text with numerous great allusions and references to cinema legends ranging from Chaplin to Bunuel.
My Rating – 4.5
This is the 17th film in my American Cinema Marathon where I will watch one film from each American country every day. Next up is 🇵🇾.
Results
