The Executioner / El Verdugo (1963 Berlanga), film (es) ESP

Arguably one of the finest films by Luis García Berlanga, one of Spain’s most beloved directors, The Executioner is a pitch-black comedy about a state executioner and a funeral-parlour employee who settle their financial and emotional woes with an agreement. But things don’t play out quite as planned. It’s dark humour notwithstanding, the film’s final moments chill, as Berlanga makes his feelings about capital punishment all too clear.

<Best Spanish Films>