Death of a Bureaucrat

Cuban director Tomas Gutierrez Alea's Death of a Bureaucrat is a hilarious look at one man's battle with red tape. The film opens with the demise of Paco, a renowned sculptor who invented a bust making machine that eventually busted (while attempting to repair it, Paco fell inside and was killed). After Paco's burial, his nephew and widow apply for a widow's pension, only to discover a major error. As an homage to Paco's loyalty and inspiration to the working class, they buried him with his work card. The work card is necessary to start the paperwork for the pension. The nephew's attempts to retrieve the card set in motion a mindboggling chain of bureaucratic lunacy. In addition to being a satire on the long government lines and standard office runaround that we've all come to know and hate, Death of a Bureaucrat is also a loving tribute to the early pioneers of American comedy: Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd (during some scenes Alea even speeds up the camera ala Keystone Cops to recapture the style of the golden era of comedy). Alea's gift is his ability to mix the slapstick comedy of bygone days with a modern sense of black humor. In one scene, for instance, a fight breaks out between the arguing parties at the cemetery, but instead of throwing pies, the contestants toss memorial wreaths at one another. For anyone who's ever felt that the meaning of life is a form (in triplicate), this sly comedy offers painfully funny confirmation. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)