Death of a Cyclist/Muerte de un cyclist

DATE: 1955

FILM DIRECTOR: Juan Antonio Bardem

CAST: Lucia Bosè, Alberto Closas, Bruna Corrà, Carlos Casaravilla, Otello Toso

SYNOPSIS:  Upper-class geometry professor Juan and his wealthy, married mistress, Maria José, driving back from a late-night rendezvous, accidentally hit a cyclist, and run. The resulting, exquisitely shot tale of guilt, infidelity, and blackmail reveals the wide gap between the rich and the poor in Spain, and surveys the corrupt ethics of a society seduced by decadence. Juan Antonio Bardem’s charged melodrama Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista) was a direct attack on 1950s Spanish society under Franco’s rule (Criterion Collection).

This film corresponds with the Neorealism unit in Film and Society of Spain (MLL213).

In Spanish with English subtitles.