Black-and-white still from Placido: a group of men in jackets lean on an office counter, one in a hat holding a white box, as a man in a suit faces them.

Placido

85

Minutes

Directed by:

Luis García Berlanga

Starring:

José Luis López Vázquez Amelia de la Torre Mari Carmen Yepes José María Caffarel Manuel Alexandre Elvira Quintillá Cassen Amparo Soler Leal

Synopsis

Azcona and Berlanga’s first feature-collaboration, Plácido turns a charitable Christmas dinner into a subversive vision of Francoist Spain. While prominent citizens publicly display compassion by inviting poor people to dine with them, Plácido desperately tries to prevent the repossession of his humble three-wheeled vehicle. Around him, generosity becomes spectacle as Christian morality dissolves into selfishness. Berlanga’s crowded ensemble scenes, frantic rhythm, and dark humour expose respectable society’s indifference to genuine suffering. Hilarious yet merciless, Plácido cleverly slips beneath the censor’s gaze to reveal the hypocrisy sustaining bourgeois appearances under Franco’s stifling rule.

This is a collaboration with Instituto Cervantes in London to commemorate the centenary of Rafael Azcona, one of Spain’s most influential screenwriters.

Instituto Cervantes
Black-and-white still from Placido: two men in coats stand by a vehicle decorated with garlands and lights on a night street, with signs behind them.
Black-and-white still from Placido: a crowd of men in hats and coats gather close together by a staircase with an ornate railing.
Black-and-white still from Placido: an older woman in a headscarf sits at a table in the foreground while a younger woman in a light dress sits on a bed behind her.
Black-and-white still from Placido: a group of men in jackets lean on an office counter, one in a hat holding a white box, as a man in a suit faces them.
Black-and-white still from Placido: people sit and stand on a vehicle covered in lights and garlands at night.
Black-and-white still from Placido: a woman in a headscarf sits close to two men in dark coats in a small room.