Death of a Cyclist (1955)

Death of a Cyclist

Death of a Cyclist, from 1955, is a thriller and a moral drama. Two lovers, Juan and Maria, accidentally hit a cyclist with their car, and have to flee the crime scene afraid of their illicit affair being revealed. They are part of high society: Maria is the wife of a very rich man, and Juan is a math professor, and they decide they have very much to lose: each other and their social status. Early on they get hints from another man that he knows, but exactly what he knows and what he wants is unclear.
The plot is very suspensive and contains some twists reminiscent of Hitchcock; the camerawork is competent, though the acting is maybe a little stiff (maybe typical for 1950s cinema?).
The moral dimension is interesting, with Juan who sees himself as a failure, economically and professionally, as he is dependent on influental relatives. The accident and his moral failure makes him re-evaluate his life. And Maria is confronted with her strong desire for status. In the films opening scene they choose to leave the cyclist in the ditch, dying.
The transfer from Criterion is excellent, and there are some extras: a documentary about Bardem and a informative booklet. The film is said to be a standard ingredient in cinema studies, and finally it is available on DVD. Recommended to everyone interested in cinema, and/or some suspense. July 28, 2008

A Hitchcockian Spanish film

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

"Death of a Cyclist releases" in Spain as "Muerte de un ciclista" is a film about an adulterous couple who accidentaly hits and kills a bicyclist with their car. It is in a rural area and nobody but them sees it happen. They leave without helping mainly because they don't want their affair to become known. They later become haunted by their crime.

The film has plot elements similar to that of Alfred Hitchcock's films and is also an allegory on the gap between the wealthy and the poor in Franco era Spain. For this the film was censored, but is now freely available.

The special feature on this release is a documentary about the film's director, Juan Antonio Bardem, titled "Calle Bardem"

This is a great film but the DVD could have more special features. May 23, 2008

Ageless

Thank you Criterion; everything excels. Mr. Merrit's brief review is absolutely spot on. I would only add that the secondary story...the student...is exceptional and will affect you greatly.

NOTE: The politics of the time in Spain and Europe in general are apparent, but are only retrospectively interesting today. But complementary to this film so try to keep them in mind. May 3, 2008

Death of a Cyclist in an Age of Infidelity.

Although he directed nearly twenty films between 1951 and 1997, Juan Antonio Bardem (1922-2002), was a Spanish screenwriter and film director best known for Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un Ciclista) (1955) and as the uncle of actor Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men). The 87-minute film--which is a thinly disguised attack on Spanish society under Franco's rule--won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, and tells the story of a wealthy geometry professor Juan (Alberto Closas) and his mistress Maria José (Lucía Bosé), who accidentally hits and fatally injure a cyclist while driving back from a late-night tryst. Because there are no witnesses to the accident, the two flee from the scene. At a cocktail party, a social rogue (Carlos Casaravilla) with a dislike for the rich then threatens to "ferret out" the couple's "unpretty secrets," pushing the film to its violent denouement. The film ultimatly becomes a lesson in corruption, decadence, and the division between Spanish rich and the poor. The film was originally released in the U.S. as The Age of Infidelity.

The Criterion Collection edition features a new high-definition digital transfer; "Calle Bardem" (2005), a documentary on the revolutionary life and career of director Juan Antonio Bardem; new and improved English subtitle translation; and a booklet featuring an essay by scholar Marsha Kinder and Bardem's 1955 call to arms for Spanish cinema.

G. Merritt February 21, 2008

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