El hombre que se quiso matar

Based on a tale from Wenceslao Fernández Florez, an Spanish writer known by his peculiar sense of dark humor, this dark comedy was the first film made by the prolific Rafael Gil, one of the most representatives from Franco era.

A Very watchable moral fable because the story is funny and also invites you to think about life and society at the same time you laugh or smile. The only negative point is an acting too much theatrical in some of the secondary players and an anodyne direction.

The plot is about a man (Antonio Casal) with a lot of disgrace and affliction in his life, with no job, no girlfriend and no friends who decides to kill but fails in his attempt several times. But when he announces in public his suicide begins to feel free and with no social prejudices and as he changes, his life begin to change too.

Some people criticize the film because many points of the plot are not credible. It is necessary to consider that the purpose wasn't to develop a realistic plot.

In fact if you want to enjoy this film think you are going to watch, how could I say, a Marx Brothers movie but with a little more serious plot and a darker treatment !!

It's what you can also see in films like "El malvado carabel" (based in a Fernández Florez tale too). And a sense of dark humor very present in many other Spanish writers of the time like Mihura, Tono, and later in Azcona.

This is a splendid Spanish movie of the fourties. Based on a script by the great writer, one of the funniest, Wenceslao Fernández Flórez. Another adaptation of his novels is for instance "El bosque animado". The plot is about a young man who can't get a job as architect, whose girlfriend split up with him and whose father considers him as a complete loser. He decides to commit suicide but before that, he is going to tell everybody what is his opinion about them. It's a very very very funny movie, with a superb script including memorable quote lines. Despite of being an incredible comedy, it pretends to show a bitter critic of the Spanish society after the Civil War...which could be absolutely translated to nowadays. A must see.