Death of a Bureaucrat

1966

1h 25m

Comedy

Drama

List

100%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

An inventor's (Manuel Estanillo) widow (Silvia Planas) has a nephew (Salvador Wood) exhume his body after Communists bury it with his union card.

Trevor Johnston

Time Out

This arresting early work by one of Cuba's foremost film-makers is a black comedy about institutionalised bureaucracy at its most pedantic.

Jan 26, 2006

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

Even when the comedy is strained, Death of a Bureaucrat should work on the gut responses of anyone who has ever stood in lines at bureaus dealing in driver's licenses, rent control, gas, water, electricity or -- perish the thought -- complaints.

May 9, 2005

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

A pleasant, very funny social comedy with a faint black lining.

Jan 1, 2000

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B. Ruby Rich

Jump Cut

Death of a Bureaucrat is a fanciful satire that takes on the excesses of Kafkaesque bureaucracy at the same time that it pays loving homage to the excesses of early cinematic comedies.

Feb 26, 2020

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Mucho funny.

Rated: B

Apr 14, 2006

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Audience Member

The quirky humor and the excellent directorial work make this film a whole reference inside the cuban cinema. 8/10

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

Wonderful anarchic film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

Very funny, original humor and quite entertaining.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

Deeply satirical and critical, high point in cuban cinema

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

I was so lukewarm about everything in the movie. Yeah, it borrows a lot of different styles from different films, which you would think would give more appreciation to the film, but the problem is that it was lacking a style of its own. I was just bored with everything. But it doesn't necessarily suck so bad that it's unwatchable. The story just gets old. A guy's Uncle is buried with his work card, so he and his Aunt are working to bury the body up, and once it's up they have to go through this crazy process to get the forms to put him back in the ground. That's a bureaucracy for you. Isn't it funny? Well, at first it is. But even at 85 minutes, the film outstays its welcome. It does my pet peeve of making things happen that wouldn't actually happen, but the filmmakers thought it would be funny. And we never really get to know anything about the lead character, except he is going through hell to get this paperwork finished. It's fantastic to see a film like this be able to be made through a strict country such as Cuba at the time. It makes sense to watch it in class during this time period and after everything we talked about, but I don't see how this is considered a classic.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

Not too good attempt to criticise Cuban bureaucrasy. Pretty boring.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Director

Salvador Wood

Nephew

Silvia Planas

Aunt

Manuel Estanillo

Bureaucrat

Gaspar de Santelices

Nephew's boss

Carlos Ruiz de la Tejera

Psychiatrist

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Synopsis

An inventor's (Manuel Estanillo) widow (Silvia Planas) has a nephew (Salvador Wood) exhume his body after Communists bury it with his union card.

Director: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 25m