Death of a Bureaucrat

1966 · film · CU

Latino-directedLatino-createdAbout the communityLatino-led castIdentityLaborClass

Directed by: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea

Starring: Salvador Wood, Silvia Planas, Manuel Estanillo, Omar Alfonso, Gaspar De Santelices, Elsa Montero

Runtime: 84 min

Why it mattersAI-assisted

Death of a Bureaucrat is a film about a man's struggle with the Cuban bureaucratic system. It matters because it critiques the system

Sources

synopsis — A model Cuban revolutionary tragically dies at work and, as a badge of honor, is buried with his labor card in his suit pocket. When his widow attempts to apply for his pension, the pension office demands the original labor card. Desperate, his nephew embarks on an increasingly chaotic and surreal quest through the Cuban bureaucratic system to secure permission to exhume the body, only to be met with endless forms, contradictory regulations, and apathetic officials.
credit — Directed by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea.

Synopsis

A model Cuban revolutionary tragically dies at work and, as a badge of honor, is buried with his labor card in his suit pocket. When his widow attempts to apply for his pension, the pension office demands the original labor card. Desperate, his nephew embarks on an increasingly chaotic and surreal quest through the Cuban bureaucratic system to secure permission to exhume the body, only to be met with endless forms, contradictory regulations, and apathetic officials.