Those of us who have been frustrated by trying to get large organizations (whether private or public) to take action might well enjoy Tomas Alea's Death of a Bureaucrat (1966), said to be a satire on communism / socialism, but which could equally apply to big business or the civil service / local government.
After a well-regarded worker has died (in a ludicrous accident recalling Modern Times and looking like an influence on Monty Python), his widow (Silvia Planas) and nephew (Salvador Wood) go to arrange for her pension. Unfortunately, his union card has been buried with the fellow, and nothing can be done without it. So, off goes the nephew to arrange an exhumation. Oh, no, you have to wait two years for that one! In desperation the poor fellow hires a group of chaps to sneak into the cemetery and open the coffin, but of course this goes wrong too, and our hero ends up with a coffin and a corpse on his hands. Being an honest fellow, he explains the situation but is told Uncle can't be buried without an exhumation order...
Very funny at times, this film has nods to Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Bunuel, Harold Lloyd and Keaton (all acknowledged) in a mixture of satire and slapstick which follows the poor chap into an ever-confused mass of paperwork, unhelpful officials and rules designed to frustrate and infuriate the gentlest of souls. At almost every turn one sees people shifting great masses of documents or passing responsibility onto other workers in scenes reminiscent of the 'Office of Circumlocution' in Dickens's Bleak House. Either that or doing things which have no relation to what they are supposed to do.
This is certainly worth a look.
