Up until the last couple minutes of this film I was very impressed by DEATH OF A CYCLIST. It was an excellent and well-constructed tale about two individuals and the different ways that they respond to their perpetrating a hit and run that killed a bicycler. I especially appreciated how the lady and man responded so differently--with one eventually rising to the occasion and the other sinking deeper and deeper into evil. So as a character study, it was wonderful as well as very dark.
However, in the last couple minutes a "good ALWAYS triumphs over evil" ending is tacked on the film that just doesn't work at all and undoes almost all the greatness of the film. The director apparently did NOT want to give it this cheap and horrible ending, but he was forced by the fascist Spanish government to include this ending against his wishes. And, true to the director's vision, the ending they used did destroy the impact of the film. What exactly the bad ending is you can see for yourself. It's really a shame because just before this final scene is one of the BEST scenes when one of the two criminals turns on the other one--a brilliant piece of film making.
PS--It's interesting that after only a few weeks, this review has gotten three negative comments. If they score it this way because I didn't like the ending and found it took away from the film, this is ALSO the way the director felt about it as well. It was wonderful, but that ending just was a let-down and the director was understandably angry that he was forced to make this concession to the government censors. On the other hand, if the negatives are because I am dead wrong, then I willingly accept them.
However, in the last couple minutes a "good ALWAYS triumphs over evil" ending is tacked on the film that just doesn't work at all and undoes almost all the greatness of the film. The director apparently did NOT want to give it this cheap and horrible ending, but he was forced by the fascist Spanish government to include this ending against his wishes. And, true to the director's vision, the ending they used did destroy the impact of the film. What exactly the bad ending is you can see for yourself. It's really a shame because just before this final scene is one of the BEST scenes when one of the two criminals turns on the other one--a brilliant piece of film making.
PS--It's interesting that after only a few weeks, this review has gotten three negative comments. If they score it this way because I didn't like the ending and found it took away from the film, this is ALSO the way the director felt about it as well. It was wonderful, but that ending just was a let-down and the director was understandably angry that he was forced to make this concession to the government censors. On the other hand, if the negatives are because I am dead wrong, then I willingly accept them.