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Death of a Cyclist (Spanish: Muerte de un ciclista). Filmed in 1955, it’s a dramatic tragedy directed by Juan Antonio Bardem and stars Italian actress Lucia Bosè and Spanish/Argentinian actor Alberto Closas. Bardem was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and best film in the National Syndicate of Spectacle, both in 1955. “Death of a Cyclist” opens on a lone bicyclist as he fades into the distant horizon where he’s killed by a secretive couple who can’t afford to have their adulterous relationship revealed. One is an upper class socialite who cares only for herself, the other is a lowly assistant professor at the university in Madrid. Tensions and paranoia escalate as the death of the man is reported and they fear their secret will be revealed. The character of Juan Fernández Soler portrayed by Alberto Closas develops a conscience and his ersatz lover, María José de Castro as portrayed by Lucia Bosé, finds herself in fear of losing her pampered life, causing the film to take even more dramatic turns

Background The director of Death of a Cyclist is Juan Antonio Bardem. Juan Antonio Bardem was born on June 2, 1922 in Madrid, Spain. He was married to Maria Aguado Barbado. Juan Antonio Bardem was a Spanish film director and screen writer. His birth name was Juan Antonio Bardem Muñoz, and he was trained initially as an agricultural engineer. Juan Antonio Bardem was an outspoken critic of the Franco regime. His political views prevented him from gaining a diploma from the Spanish cinema institute in 1947. Thereafter, he worked as a critic and finally broke into films as writer/director of the much acclaimed Death of a Cyclist (Muerte de un ciclista in Spanish) which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. He was also known for Foul Play (El Puente in Spanish) which won the Golden Prize at the 10th Moscow International Film Festival. Juan Antonio Bardem helped bring Spanish cinema to international prominence with his socially conscious and stylish films. He died on October 30, 2002 in Madrid.

Cast Lucia BoseMaria José de Castro (as Lucia Bose) Alberto ClosasJuan Fernández Soler Bruna CorráMatilde Luque Carvajal (as Bruna Corra) Carlos CasaravillaRafael Sandoval dicho Rafa Otello TosoMiguel Castro Alicia RomayCarmina Julia Delgado CaroDoña Maria Matilde Muñoz SampedroVecina del ciclista muerto Mercedes AlbertCristina José SepúlvedaComisario (as Jose Sepulveda) José PradaDecano (as Jose Prada) Fernando SanchoSargento policía tráfico Manuel AlexandreCiclista Jacinto San EmeterioJoaquín

Reference

Feaster, F. (2016). Death of a Cyclist. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/141992|0/Death-of-a-Cyclist.html Juan Antonio Bardem - Biography - IMDb. (2016). Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0054219/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm