Luis Garcia Berlanga

The Profile

Spanish film director (1921–2010) known for satirical and black-comedy films that critiqued Spanish society; notable films include Bienvenido, Mister Marshall!, Plácido and El verdugo.

Worked and released films during Francoist Spain and frequently used irony and satire to critique social norms and bourgeois morality.

Confaloni's review examines Berlanga's 1973 film Grandezza naturale (Tamaño natural) as a caustic satire of bourgeois morality. The film centres on a dentist's obsession with an inflatable doll and sparked controversy and censorship debates. The reviewer defends the film as a corrosive apologue rather than simple chauvinism.