La mort d'un bureaucrate

When lent this film by a Spanish professor, my expectations were not high -- I had no idea this film from the early years of revolutionary Cuba was by Gutierrez Alea, Tinton, the director of Strawberries and Chocalate. Now, having seen the film, I wonder how it is that such a wonderful, imaginative work is not better known. For a good laugh, this can hardly be beat.

"Death of a Bureaucrat"(Muerte de un burocrata) is the story of a body that just can't get in the ground, and the frustrations suffered by the deceased's family in trying to address this situation. With the themes of bureaucratic rigidity, death, burial and the challenges of (then) modern-day Cuban life, we see linkages to Tinton's last work, "Guantanamera". The director has played with a range of techniques borrowed from some of the greats -- we find Bunuel's dream sequences, Chaplin's battles with the machine, and Keaton's daring-do. Hopefully, with the success of Tinton's final works, some of his earlier works will come into vogue.

For a movie that was released 40 years ago, this one has aged particularly well.

I think I'm not exaggerating by saying that this movie represents something of a precursor of the Monty Python movies, alas, not so irreverent. But the way it deals with the topic, and the imaginative gags and inter-cuts that it has, can only remind you of those English geniuses.

But is also many things. A little of Three Stooges here. Even a little Chaplin there...

How you can make something funny out of the situation of a family (the main character and his aunt) that cannot get his relative buried, and have to keep him home until the red tape is overpowered, without losing sight of the human touch and their despair?. You'd need a very skillful director to juggle all that successfully.

I Haven't seen or heard of a Latin American movie like this one. It must be considered a milestone in Latin American cinema (and certainly, in world cinema). Regretfully, not the style, or the genius of the director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, seem to have had dedicated followers. I'm afraid that has something to do with the Cuban origin, not because of Cuban backlash, but because of lack of interest or attention over Cuban art during the 60's. Latin America has produced a lot of movies, but most of them are dead serious. When somebody comes with the idea of a comedy, it is very light, unfunny and clichéd, nothing to tell the world about, with very few exceptions.

That's why I was surprised by LA MUERTE DE UN BURÓCRATA and I highly recommend it, if you can find it somehow.

This film is not just superb, but it is also a homage to movies in general.

This is a comedy, a tragedy, a parody, and a documentary. Why is this film so important to people who have never lived in Cuba? Because, like every work of art from the beginning of civilization, it is applicable the old Arab saying of "write about your street, and you will be writing about the world." Anyone who has ever dealt with the Tax Office, the Immigration Board, the City Bylaws Enforcement, the European Union office of standards, the Human Resources Department, the Phone Company, the Big Bank, the Insurance Company, or any other office of some big organization will immediately recognize the situations shown in this film.

A must see.

She is the model in the bikini holding a hammer 1 hour into the movie. Her name is Regina Amador, top model at Tropicana Club Havana, Cuba 1962-1968.

Tomas Gutierrez Alea, Death of a Bureaucratic, Cuba, 1966

In a time of struggle between the United States and Cuba, when film was forbidden to leave Cuba, Tomas Gutierrez Alea managed to smuggle his Death of a Bureaucratic from his country. This great feat allowed Americans to view a Cuban's cinematography and also his satirical perspective of Cuban society under the reign of Castro. I believe that Alea did a wonderful job of showing how society and government worked during that time by using humor to depict a dark time. There was much symbolism present and foreshadowing. Since he was successful in turning otherwise disturbing situations into humorous ones, I think he could catch a broader audience and allow them to gain a small view of the situation in Cuba.

As the basis of the film, I believe that Alea was trying to show the government in the time of Castro rule. The Death of a Bureaucratic is a very fitting title to show this theme. Throughout the film there are scenes of artists' artwork advertising the smashing of bureaucracy. The overseer of the art was constantly critiquing his artists' works, telling them that the biceps needed to be much larger. Was this an attempt to portray that one must flex their muscles in order to appear, and not necessarily be, stronger and mightier? That Cuba or Castro was stronger and mightier than anyone else? Also, I believe that the major component of showing government in that time was how the nephew had to jump through so many hoops in order to obtain a simple document. First, he needed Paco's work card (for which he had been buried with). Then after unearthing Paco illegally, he had to get the same paperwork to bury him again. The humorous and frustrating parts were how many people and departments that the nephew had to see and go through in order to receive the approval to bury his uncle again. A funny part showing the regime of Castro was when one office worker was distributing a set amount of toilet paper to another. I thought it amusing and a good way to show how stringent and strict the government was.

There was a multitude of symbolism. I question the importance of beginning and ending the film with the sculpted angel in the cemetery. Paco was a sculptor and part of the story's theme was based on death – burying Paco, unearthing him, trying to rebury him and the demise of his nephew. Was the angel just a theatrical addition or possibly one showing the death of two souls? The sculptures also come into play that Paco was attempting to create a bust of Castro for every family in Cuba. In the end, that came to the demise of Paco and his nephew.

Death was highly prevalent in some obscure and obvious ways. I thought it funny that outside the first office the nephew enters, to get the needed approval, there is a man sitting with a scythe. Then the waiter has fangs at the restaurant where the nephew comes to an agreement with the cemetery crew to help him open his uncle's casket. Another amusing aspect that I noticed was that the mortician had a skeleton hanging in his rear-view mirror. The blackbirds that the nephew kept seeing, I believe, foreshadowed his impending demise and kept with a theme of death.

As far as the cinematography, there were many elements I thought interesting. The one that stood out most to me was when Paco's machine malfunctioned and he was attempting to fix it. That scene differed from the rest of the movie. It was cartoon-like. The accelerated motion added to this element. That scene reminded me of movies during Charlie Chaplin's time when there was no sound and the actors were over-dramatic in order to express the emotion and events in the film. I thought the transitions between scenes were defined and effective. It seemed to me that they were close to what we see in movies today. Alea's choice of score blended in to where I didn't feel that it overpowered the shot or effectiveness of the acting and film but was rather mostly an enhancement.

A review from IMDb.com references the dream sequences used by Alea. They make reference that these are similar to those of Bunnel. Said dream sequences baffled me. There was an homage made to Alea's friend, Dali, when the nephew, Juanchin, was pulling the coffin. This was a sign of carrying a heavy weight or baggage. Although the dreams were a prominent part in the film, I found them confusing and creepy.

All in all, I believe that Alea's Death of a Bureaucratic was a humorous portrayal of the darker time under Castro's rule.