# Plácido
**Plácido** is a 1961 Spanish black-and-white comedy directed by Luis García Berlanga, in which a charitable Christmas campaign called "Siente un pobre a su mesa" ("Seat a poor person at your table") becomes a satirical portrait of charity as spectacle in [Francoist Spain](https://www.edgepedia.org/francoist-spain). It was produced by Jet Films, runs 85 minutes, and was photographed by Francisco Sempere in 35 mm.[1](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=219550) Spanish film historiography considers it the film that consolidated Berlanga's style, with its ensemble cast, long sequence shots, and contrast between image and sound.[2](https://encadenados.org/monograficos/no-064-monografico-luis-garcia-berlanga/placido-1961/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / year | Luis García Berlanga, 1961, Spain[1](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=219550) |
| Screenplay | Luis García Berlanga, Rafael Azcona, José Luis Colina, and José Luis Font, from an original idea by Berlanga[2](https://encadenados.org/monograficos/no-064-monografico-luis-garcia-berlanga/placido-1961/) |
| Format | Feature film, 85 minutes, 35 mm, black and white, normal screen ratio[1](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=219550) |
| Principal cast | Cassen (Plácido), José Luis López Vázquez (Gabino Quintanilla), Elvira Quintillá, Manuel Alexandre, Amelia de la Torre, Mari Carmen Yepes, José María Caffarel[1](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=219550) |
| Key crew | Music Miguel Asins Arbó; cinematography Francisco Sempere; executive producer Alfredo Matas[3](https://enciclopediadelcineespanol.wordpress.com/2020/12/29/placido-1961/) |
| Filming | Began 27 February 1961 in Manresa; completed in a studio on 29 April[4](https://elpais.com/cultura/2023-03-28/asi-es-el-archivo-berlanga.html) |
| Honors | Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and for the Golden Palm at Cannes 1962; Spanish Cinema Writers Circle awards for Best Director and Best Film[5](https://pragda.com/film/placido/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The action takes place on 24 December in a small provincial town, where a group of leisured bourgeois women organize a Christmas campaign under the slogan "Siente un pobre a su mesa", intended to let the needy share [Christmas Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/christmas-eve) dinner with well-off families and enjoy the warmth and affection they lack the rest of the year.[3](https://enciclopediadelcineespanol.wordpress.com/2020/12/29/placido-1961/) Gabino Quintanilla (José Luis López Vázquez) is placed in charge of directing the campaign.[3](https://enciclopediadelcineespanol.wordpress.com/2020/12/29/placido-1961/)
Plácido Alonso (Cassen) has been hired to take part in the parade with his three-wheeled motor van, but he cannot concentrate on the job: the first installment payment on the vehicle, his only means of making a living, falls due that same day, and he spends the film trying to prevent its repossession.[6](https://www.movistarplus.es/cine/placido/ficha?id=11817&tipo=E) Around him, generosity becomes spectacle as Christian morality dissolves into selfishness, and Berlanga's crowded ensemble scenes, frantic rhythm, and dark humor expose respectable society's indifference to genuine suffering.[7](https://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/film/2026/placido) The film's satire extends to details such as Plácido's wife working all day in public urinals, and a country more concerned that "no one blaspheme" than that its poor eat daily and keep warm, a cold the characters mention throughout.[3](https://enciclopediadelcineespanol.wordpress.com/2020/12/29/placido-1961/)
## Origins and production
After the censorship problems that followed the release of *Los jueves, milagro* (1957), Berlanga entered a period of reduced activity. In 1959 he returned to screenwriting with Rafael Azcona on *Se vende un tranvía* (1959), which began their productive collaboration; *Plácido* was the next project the two undertook together.[2](https://encadenados.org/monograficos/no-064-monografico-luis-garcia-berlanga/placido-1961/) The script grew from an original idea by Berlanga, written by Azcona with the collaboration of José Luis Colina and José Luis Font, and was produced by Alfredo Matas at the head of Jet Films.[2](https://encadenados.org/monograficos/no-064-monografico-luis-garcia-berlanga/placido-1961/) The project was initially titled *Siente un pobre a su mesa* and was shot in the town of Manresa.[2](https://encadenados.org/monograficos/no-064-monografico-luis-garcia-berlanga/placido-1961/)
Filming began on 27 February 1961 in Manresa, whose townspeople compiled an album documenting the shoot in the city's streets, and finished in a studio on 29 April.[4](https://elpais.com/cultura/2023-03-28/asi-es-el-archivo-berlanga.html) Berlanga's son José Luis has described the finished film as made "in an angelic state", with nothing wasted in any shot.[8](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2025/06/09/luis-garcia-berlanga-el-cineasta-contradictorio-cadena-ser/)
## Censorship
Before release the film had to pass the Junta de Clasificación y Censura of the Dirección General de Cinematografía y Teatro. The board required a change of title, and *Plácido* was chosen; it ordered the scene of the artist putting on a garter shortened, suppressed (though in the event only softened) the shot of the lady moving the head of a dying man so that he would consent to a wedding, and recommended modifying the sentry sequence so that it was clear a barracks was depicted, replacing the password "España" with another.[2](https://encadenados.org/monograficos/no-064-monografico-luis-garcia-berlanga/placido-1961/) The censors' reports, preserved in the Archivo General de la Administración and published by the Memòria i Història de Manresa association, include judgments calling the film an attack on charity, prayer, marriage, and Christmas night itself, and one that concludes it is "prohibible" for stoking class hatred.[9](https://www.memoria.cat/blog/publiquem-els-informes-de-la-censura-del-film-placido/) The film was ultimately authorized with the required changes.[9](https://www.memoria.cat/blog/publiquem-els-informes-de-la-censura-del-film-placido/)
## Release and reception
The film premiered in Barcelona on 20 October 1961.[10](https://datos.bne.es/resource/Mivi0000038270) The ICAA catalog, the Spanish film archive's registry, lists a release date of 15 April 1961 for the same file.[1](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=219550) It competed at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Palm, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; the Spanish Cinema Writers Circle named it Best Film and Berlanga Best Director, and Manuel Alexandre won the National Syndicate of Spectacle award for Best Supporting Actor.[5](https://pragda.com/film/placido/) • [11](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/placido/) At the 1996 gala marking the centenary of Spanish cinema, critics and industry professionals voted it the fourth best Spanish film.[12](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-121246/)
The ICAA catalog records 22,887 spectators and receipts of €16,473.04 for the film.[1](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=219550) A separate Spanish film database lists 21,923 spectators and 13,097.99 in receipts, a discrepancy between the two registries.[13](https://www.filmoteca.org/pelicula-placido.htm)
## Style and legacy
*Plácido* is the film in which Berlanga first used the sequence shot systematically, a choice that became a hallmark of his work.[5](https://pragda.com/film/placido/) Critics have placed it alongside *El verdugo* (1963), the second Berlanga–Azcona feature, as a peak of Spanish cinema; the two films in black and white are described as speaking, with realism, esperpento (Spanish grotesque satirical literary style), laughter, and a shiver, of a Spain at once authentic and tragicomic.[14](https://elpais.com/television/2026-09-26/son-irreemplazables-parieron-placido-y-el-verdugo.html) Berlanga (1921–2010), author of 17 films over half a century, is counted among the great filmmakers of Spanish cinema, with *Plácido* standing in his first period beside *Bienvenido Mister Marshall* (1953), *Calabuch* (1956), and *El verdugo*.[15](https://manila.cervantes.es/imagenes/File/boletin-instituto-cervantes-manila-mayo-agosto-2018.pdf) The film remains available on Spanish streaming platforms and continues to be screened at festivals and cultural institutions.[16](https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/placido)
## References
1. [Plácido, Catálogo de Películas ICAA, Ministerio de Cultura](https://sede.mcu.gob.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=219550)
2. [Plácido (1961), Encadenados, monográfico Luis García Berlanga](https://encadenados.org/monograficos/no-064-monografico-luis-garcia-berlanga/placido-1961/)
3. [Plácido (1961), Enciclopedia del Cine Español](https://enciclopediadelcineespanol.wordpress.com/2020/12/29/placido-1961/)
4. [Así es el archivo Berlanga, El País (28 March 2023)](https://elpais.com/cultura/2023-03-28/asi-es-el-archivo-berlanga.html)
5. [Placido, Pragda](https://pragda.com/film/placido/)
6. [Plácido, Movistar Plus](https://www.movistarplus.es/cine/placido/ficha?id=11817&tipo=E)
7. [Placido, Cambridge Film Festival](https://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/film/2026/placido)
8. [Luis García Berlanga: el cineasta contradictorio, Cadena SER (9 June 2025)](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2025/06/09/luis-garcia-berlanga-el-cineasta-contradictorio-cadena-ser/)
9. [Publiquem els informes de la censura del film Plácido, Memoria.cat](https://www.memoria.cat/blog/publiquem-els-informes-de-la-censura-del-film-placido/)
10. [Registro Marc: Plácido, datos.bne.es](https://datos.bne.es/resource/Mivi0000038270)
11. [PLACIDO, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/f/placido/)
12. [Plácido (1961), SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-121246/)
13. [Plácido, ficha técnica, Filmoteca.org](https://www.filmoteca.org/pelicula-placido.htm)
14. [Son irreemplazables, parieron 'Plácido' y 'El verdugo', El País (26 September 2026)](https://elpais.com/television/2026-09-26/son-irreemplazables-parieron-placido-y-el-verdugo.html)
15. [Ciclo Cine, Instituto Cervantes Manila](https://manila.cervantes.es/imagenes/File/boletin-instituto-cervantes-manila-mayo-agosto-2018.pdf)
16. [Plácido, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/placido)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1960s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license