Placido (1961)
"Plácido" (original title)

In a small spanish town, a group of old ladies decide to celebrate Christmas Eve with a "Sit a poor man at your table" dinner: each wealthy household of the town will have a homeless person... See full summary »

Director:

Luis García Berlanga

Writers:

Rafael Azcona (screenplay), Rafael Azcona (story),

Stars:

Cassen, José Luis López Vázquez, Elvira Quintillá

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cassen	...	Plácido Alonso (as Casto Sendra 'Cassen')
José Luis López Vázquez	...	Gabino Quintanilla
Elvira Quintillá	...	Emilia
Manuel Alexandre	...	Julián Alonso
Mario Bustos	...	(as Mario de Bustos)
María Francés	...	(as Mari Francés)
Mari Carmen Yepes	...	Martita (as Carmen Yepes)
Jesús Puche	...	Don Arturo
Roberto Llamas
Amelia de la Torre	...	Doña Encarna de Galán
Juan G. Medina
José María Caffarel	...	Zapater
Xan das Bolas	...	Rivas
Fernando Delgado	...	Representante de los artistas
Laura Granados	...	Erika

Storyline

In a small spanish town, a group of old ladies decide to celebrate Christmas Eve with a "Sit a poor man at your table" dinner: each wealthy household of the town will have a homeless person dining with them that night. The celebrations also include a parade, and in it we find Plácido, the humble owner of a three-wheeler, whose family is forced to live in a public lavatory because of the lack of money to pay the rent, and who has to pay the second bill of his vehicle before midnight or else he will lose it.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | tragicomedy

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

20 October 1961 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Placido

Filming Locations:

Manresa, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 2,068,867 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jet Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was originally going to be titled "Siente a un pobre a su mesa" ("seat a poor man at your table"), but this was ultimately changed because the Spanish censorship would not allow it.

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Connections

Featured in Berlanga, plano personal (2011)

User Reviews

The desperation of Spain seen through the looking-glass of black comedy.

As is almost always the case with the films of Berlanga, this film is a comedy on the surface, which hides a very hard and crude criticism of the situation of Spanish society during the dictatorship. In those years, Spanish filmmakers couldn't speak freely and openly about the dismal state of their country, so they had to pass their message to the audience between the lines. Berlanga was a master at doing this, and Plácido is one of his finest examples. The abysmal differences that existed between the very poor (the majority of the population at the time) and the very rich, who treated the rest with utter contempt and ridiculous condescency, is portrayed with such strength that it can't leave anyone indifferent. But it is done in the form of a comedy, and a very funny one, full of absurd situations and memorable dialogues, but also a very black one, with some scenes, especially near the end of the movie, which are on the edge of the truly macabre. A true masterpiece from one of the greatest Spanish directors.