"El Verdugo" (The Executioner), 1963, Luis María Berlanga. Capsule review.

A true masterpiece of black humor, this Berlanga piece is much more than it meets the eye. Done during the dictatorship of Franco, the movie is full of little details and commentary on the dichotomy of life under the iron hand of the "Caudillo". A man must take an immoral job to preserve his family´s living situation, and he will not go quietly to the guillotine. Popular and burgeois happiness are all over the place, but our hero has something more sinister in his mind. A must-see.