The Executioner is a macabre comedy which is considered to be one of the best Spanish films and to call this simply a movie is not enough. Yes, it's a fairly basic plot which could never be described as "feel-good" but that isn't (and it never was) a priority. No, its priority is the heart and soul that was put into it.

What we got here is a satirical view on the middle class situation with anti-death penalty as it's theme throughout the runtime. The guy in the film is literally out of luck and after having to marry the executioner's daughter things begin to change for him for no good. Nino Manfredi's performance as Jose Luis is superb, Jose Ibert is just as splendid.

The screenplay is crammed in Kafka-esque tone to expose the bureaucratic horror with one of the grotesquely funny and Powerful final scene. The ending is easily one of the most memorable ever, it's just so heartwrenching and profound.

Fiercely funny and unapologetically black, "The Executioner" is among the most entertaining comedies that I have ever seen. Through morbid themes and distressing issues, this masterpiece of the macabre is one of Spanish cinema's many miracles. The pace is as fast as a speeding bullet as visionary filmmaker Luis Garcia Berlanga slyly mocks the heated controversy of capital punishment. Forcing its lead character to choose between traumatizing himself and living a life of poverty, Berlanga is masterfully able to turn transform tragedy into farce.

While the constant comedy may seem to some as no more than silly distraction from the social commentary, I sensed not only a consistent sense of farcical satire in the masterwork, but also a consistent sense of dread and awareness. The film can be split into two halves: the first being a slightly morbid, but utterly charming romantic comedy, and the second being a much more bleak work of direful, tragicomic satire. Many satires have the unfortunate flaw of paying much more attention to their message than the quality of their script, characters, and plot; "The Executioner" shares all of these traits. Beyond the black and social critiques, there are some highly likable characters and a flat-out amazing premise, satirical or not.

Chaotic, sad, and laugh-out-loud hilarious in equal measure, it is hard to determine whether "The Executioner" is a work that leaves an imprint of joy or sorrow. My reaction is one of both, for the ambiguous ending serves as both a punchline and a bone chilling reminder of the unpredictable tragedies hidden deep within the human experience.

Spanish writer-director Luis García Berlanga's eighth feature film is a Spain-Italy co-production, stars Italian matinée idol Nino Manfredi as an unassuming undertaker, José Luis Rodríguez, whose marriage prospect is not so encouraging due to his profession. Through chance meeting with a senior prison executioner Amadeo (Isbert),he gets acquainted with his daughter Carmen (Penella),who is also pestered by the same pickle, no one is willing to marry her simply because of Amadeo's job, so the two chime in instantly and apparently it is a perfect match, but soon life put José through the wringer of a series of exigencies (Carmen's pregnancy, marriage and a thorny apartment issue),his ideal future where he can get rid of this disreputable trade becomes more and more unattainable, once he has been pushed to register as a successor of his father-in-law, aka. a new executioner is born.

On the horns of a dilemma, José's predicament is wittily delineated through Berlanga's delightful verve, exerts a realistic spin on the irony of life, how one's ideal having been gradually crushed by the twist of fate. Manfredi's interpretation of José affects in earnest, he is spontaneously sympathetic to establish José as a nobody, stuck in the line of work which he doesn't like, exhibits his own foibles through his marriage, and lives by his blind faith that he could still opt out against the worst-case scenario, until his melt-down when the bubble is burst.

Veteran Spanish actor José Isbert plays Amadeo enthusiastically, who is decidedly persevering in tricking José to take over his mantle, so as to secure the marriage and an apartment assigned from the government, he is manipulative on top of his goody-goody persona, but we cannot blame him for his simple-mined selfishness, plainly because that's the widespread mindset among most people in the world. As for Emma Fenella, her Carmen is an uncomplicated sort, maternal, down- to-earth and forges strong protection to the men in her life.

The satirical connotation of morbidness seeps through the debate over the variations of death penalty (garrotte seems to be the most civilised choice),and a unanimous bias towards a now obsolete vocation. A vignette of José and Carmen's frugal wedding right after a fancier one, and the tour in Palma de Mallorca, where the lovey-dovey luxuriates in a string concert on the creek inside a large cave, exactly in that moment, José's duty call arrives, these are brilliant instances where realism meets cinematic creation, whether they are bittersweet, heartfelt or intriguing, together they bring about vigour and pleasure to the audience and it is a telling testimony of a director's faculty.