Death of a Cyclist

Juan Fernandez Soler and María Jose return home after their adulterous encounter, their faces showing guilt and tension. They try to slip back into ordinary life, but the silence between them has weight. This opening moment establishes the film's moral stakes and foreshadows the consequences to come.

While speeding along a road, their car strikes a cyclist. They do not stop to help, leaving the cyclist alive but gravely injured. The decision to drive away seeds the central dilemma that will haunt both characters.

The news of the cyclist's death begins to spread, and both Juan and María Jose feel an increasing anxiety about being exposed. The possibility of scandal threatens not only their reputations but also their sense of self. The weight of the incident presses on their minds as they try to carry on with their lives.

For María Jose, exposure would mean losing her position as a wealthy socialite and the world she inhabits. She weighs how the scandal could unravel her marriage, status, and privileges. The fear motivates her to shield the truth at all costs.

Juan contemplates his past as a Falange soldier and the hypocrisy of the upper class he moves within. He weighs his past actions against the carefree privilege of his social milieu. The incident acts as a mirror, forcing him to face uncomfortable truths about himself.

Rafa, an art critic who has spent months observing the socialites, devises a plan to expose María Jose and Juan. He believes a public illumination will purify the upper class by force. His meddling introduces a third force that heightens the stakes for everyone.

The plan to reveal the couple's crime emerges, turning private guilt into public spectacle. The upper class fears exposure and loses their sense of control. Rafa's motive and the implications of his actions become clearer as the tension escalates.

With the weight of potential exposure, Juan resolves to surrender and confess to the authorities. He seeks to face the consequences and claim accountability. The couple's future hinges on a choice that could redefine their identities.

María Jose acts to protect her world by violently preventing Juan from turning himself in. She runs him over with the car, attempting to erase the threat and preserve her social standing. The act marks a drastic moral pivot and underscores the film's critique of power and privilege.

María Jose manages to return to her husband after the failed attempt, but a cyclist later drives her off a bridge, resulting in her death. The violence reveals the precariousness of the upper class's position. The events underscore the film's fatalistic mood about justice and consequence.

The last shot shows the cyclist riding away, his intentions still unknown. The audience is left with ambiguity about motive and justice. The film ends on a note of unresolved moral tension.