El cochecito (1960)

Seventy-something Don Anselmo, a retired minister, becomes obsessed with owning a motorized wheelchair and fakes infirmity to get it.

Director:

Marco Ferreri

Writers:

Rafael Azcona (novel), Rafael Azcona (screenplay)

Stars:

José Isbert, Pedro Porcel, José Luis López Vázquez

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
José Isbert	...	Don Anselmo Proharán
Pedro Porcel	...	Carlos Proharán
José Luis López Vázquez	...	Alvarito
María Luisa Ponte	...	Matilde
Lepe	...	Don Lucas (as Jose A. Lepe)
Ángel Álvarez	...	Álvarez
Antonio Gavilán	...	Don Hilario
María Isbert
Chus Lampreave	...	Yolanda (as Maria Jesus Lampreave)
Carmen Santonja	...	Julita (as Mari Carmen Santonja)
Eusebio Moreno
Tiburcio Cámara
José Luis Heredia	...	(as Heredia)
Anteno
Antonio Jiménez Escribano

Storyline

Septuagenarian Don Anselmo Proharan, a retired government minister, finds himself sharing living space with his son, a penurious, bourgeoisie solicitor and his family. Don Anselmo, a widower, is restricted to one room of the house, and his social life has narrowed to attending wakes, funerals, and visiting the cemetery. When his paraplegic friend Don Lucas, gets a motorized wheelchair, Proharan accompanies him to his wife's grave to leave flowers. Don Anselmo soon becomes obsessed with getting his own "little coach" and joining the subculture of other "cochetito" owners. However, when his tight-fisted son refuses to buy a chair for him, the old man tries several gambits to get one.

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Plot Keywords:

motorized wheelchair | septuagenarian | widower | cemetery | solicitor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish French

Release Date:

20 April 1961 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Little Coach

Filming Locations:

Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Films 59,Portabella Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Don Hilario: [to Don Anselmo] After all, by the year 2000 no one will use their legs... except soccer players, of course. But everyone else will go around in coaches.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: European New Wave (2011)

User Reviews

The perfect trio

Only the fusion of two genius -the director Marco Ferreri and the script writer Rafael Azcona- could have created this magnificent movie. If we add to this duet the acting of Pepe Isbert (possibly one of the best Spanish actors ever) the combination could not have been better. This is a dark movie about characters usually scorned by the society. Characters normally separated by the rest just because they are old or handicapped. All this tension developed between this two poles of the society ends in a brutal and nonsense murder. This chapter of the movie was censored by the Franco´s regime who could not bear such brutality. In any case the result is a dark movie who lets us see how were the darker years of the Spanish recent history.