Modern Times meets The Trial.
Cinemas
Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Death of a Bureaucrat
La muerte de un burócrata
An acclaimed comedy.
Comedy
1966
1h 24m
3.9(3.7k)via LetterboxdSalvador Wood + 4 more
A model Cuban revolutionary tragically dies at work and, as a badge of honor, is buried with his labor card in his suit pocket. When his widow attempts to apply for his pension, the pension office demands the original labor card. Desperate, his nephew embarks on an increasingly chaotic and surreal quest through the Cuban bureaucratic system to secure permission to exhume the body, only to be met with endless forms, contradictory regulations, and apathetic officials.
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Cast & crew
6What people say
damn, terry gilliam took his whole shit from this one, huh
A savage farce about a system that devours its own believers. Makers reallytrades introspection for slapstick here, but the fury is the same (but only wrapped in absurd comedy). A loyal worker dies and is buried with his labor card, and what follows is a descent into the paper-choked madness of bureaucracy, where every rule exists to nullify another.(the kind of film only film that is relevent for today bureaucracy ).Beneath the laughter, the film sketches a portrait of a society so entangled in a manner it forgets why the revolution even began. The protagonist determination fwels both noble and pathetic (one man fighting for a corpse’s right to rest in peace, against a machine that has forgotten the meaning of “human.") This proves how a basic well described narrative theme can make the whole film on top levels. I loved it (honestly)So as per otger things, film have very commendable narrative, absolute peak characterization & admirable cinematography with subtly crafted epilogues.
Common questions
What is Death of a Bureaucrat about?+
The film follows a man's frantic struggle to navigate the labyrinthine Cuban administrative system after his uncle is mistakenly buried with a vital document needed for a pension.
Who directed Death of a Bureaucrat?+
It was directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, a prominent Cuban filmmaker and influential figure in the country's national cinema during the 1960s.
Is Death of a Bureaucrat a comedy?+
Yes, it is a sharp satire that uses dark humor and slapstick elements to critique institutional inefficiency.
