Directed by Luis García Berlanga • 1961 • Spain
Starring Cassen, José Luis López Vázquez, Elvira Quintillá
Widely considered one of the greatest works of Spanish cinema, this relentlessly paced satire chronicles an ill-advised charity campaign sweeping across a small industrial town on Christmas Eve. The brainchild of attention-hungry society women, the holiday initiative encourages wealthy citizens to break bread with the less fortunate—“if only for one night.” As the festivities devolve into a grotesque media frenzy, a struggling family man enlisted to help on the project desperately tries to make a payment on his three-wheeler before it is repossessed. Marking the start of Berlanga’s fruitful collaboration with screenwriter Rafael Azcona, this delightfully cacophonous takedown of upper-class hypocrisy unfolds in expertly choreographed long takes that showcase the director as a master of comedic mischief.
Up Next in Comedies
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A Slightly Pregnant Man
Directed by Jacques Demy • 1973 • France
In this surreal comedy from Jacques Demy, Marcello Mastroianni plays a driving school instructor who, complaining of strange discomforts, learns he is four months pregnant. A frenzy of complications, scrutiny and celebrity ensues.
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The Freshman
Directed by Sam Taylor and Fred Newmeyer • 1925 • United States
Starring Harold Lloyd, Jobyna RalstonHarold Lloyd’s biggest box-office hit was this silent comedy gem, featuring the befuddled everyman at his eager best as a new college student. Though he dreams of being a big man on campus, the ...
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Welcome Mr. Marshall!
Directed by Luis García Berlanga • 1953 • Spain
Starring Lolita Sevilla, Manolo Morán, José IsbertA distant land shrouded in myth and rumor, America looms large in the cultural imagination of a quiet Castilian village, whose impressionable inhabitants dream of benefitting from the country’s pos...
