Spain bids farewell to Berlanga
On Saturday, Spanish cinema lost one of its leading figures, director Luis García Berlanga, who died aged 89 at his home in Madrid. "Along with Buñuel, he was one of the most important filmmakers of all time", declared Álex de la Iglesia, president of the Spanish Film Academy, of which Berlanga was honorary president and co-founder.
The director had an immeasurable influence on Spanish cinema, so much so that his distinctive style gave rise to the adjective “berlanguiano” (Berlangesque). Works like Welcome, Mr. Marshall! (1953), Miracles of Thursday (1957), Placido (1961) and The Executioner (1963), made under the Francoist regime, were real landmarks in Spanish cinema on account of their ability to combine veiled social criticism with sharp social observation and a style both entertaining and profound.
In that early period, he formed one half of an unforgettable artistic duo with screenwriter Rafael Azcona. Berlanga referred to those years as "the most fruitful time in my filmmaking career. Rafael and I had the best working method, that is to say none at all".
After the transition, Berlanga continued to make masterpieces that became part of the popular Spanish imagination, including The National Shotgun (1978), National Heritage (1981), The Heifer (1985) and Everyone Off to Jail (1993).
Equally important was his work promoting Spanish cinema, as proven by his commitment as co-founder of the Spanish Film Academy and driving force behind the Spanish Film Archive and the Ciudad de la Luz Studios in Alicante.
(Translated from Spanish)
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