The Certificate

Though Vicente Lluch has somehow faded from Spanish cinema history, his eventual rediscovery is inevitable. He directed only three features over the course of a 40-year career, but his films reveal a campy take on uniquely Spanish subjects astonishingly achieved amid the Franco regime. In The Certificate, he draws on the Mediterranean farce (as Carles Mira would later do) in order to hurl scathing criticism at the ethically reproachable and socially ridiculous Barcelona bourgeoisie. As in his other work, the story hinges on a strong, determined female character who grows increasingly empowered as it goes