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Drama

Death of a Cyclist

Muerte de un ciclista

Year
1955
Length
88 minBFI catalogue presentation Version sources ↓

An adulterous couple leave a cyclist dying after a collision, then discover that guilt and class privilege produce different kinds of fear.

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TenseBleak Great first watch · Easy Drama
A bicycle wheel and its long shadow fill the foreground, with two human shadows farther along the road.

Image: Monocurator · source · Original Monocurator artwork

What to expect

Bardem uses sharp cutting, social gatherings, classrooms, and Madrid streets to connect private cowardice with the moral evasions of Francoist society. Suspense comes from conscience as much as exposure.

How to ease in

The collision is the starting fact, not a mystery. Watch how Juan and María imagine the threat differently: one is pulled towards confession, the other towards preserving position.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes a fatal road collision, abandonment of a victim, adultery, blackmail, class contempt, domestic conflict, and death.
Momo's Note May contain spoilers Who is Momo? →
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The secret does not stay at the roadside; it enters every polished room the couple believes they own. I watch guilt widen the frame until privilege can no longer keep consequence outside.

— Momo

Momo thinking about this film

Credits & versions

Credits

Version map

BFI catalogue presentation 88 min 88 minutes is attached only to the named BFI catalogue presentation. No unsupported cut, score, territory, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred. Source: British Film Institute — Death of a Cyclist Runtime reference · Checked 2026-08-21

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