Mondays in the Sun

Rating:
Summary: Yet another gem from Spain
Review: MONDAYS IN THE SUN can be viewed as a bleak moratorium lived out by shipyard workers in a Spanish community who have been laid off thier jobs without apparent reason. Some of the characters react by accepting menial jobs as temporizing, their wives work packing smelly tuna in cans, and others react with a venom that is only slightly beneath the skin and strike out at the establishment for allowing their jobs to be taken by cheaper foreign countries (ships will now be built in Korea). Sound familiar? Well, here in a minimal setting we have all of the chaos and loss of dignity of the unemployed of the world portrayed by a talented cast and directed with realistic fervor. Javier Bardem once again proves that he is a consummate actor, taking the lead role of a man without money, job, and respect and somehow finds humanism in this grim part. The story progresses slowly, not unlike the sad days of the men who while away their useless lives in a bar owned by on of their comrades. In this micro setting we are given macro feelings and emotions and a sense of camaraderie that overcomes the sadness of their lives. This is not an entertaining movie. This is a contemporary statement about a large part of our society and can't help but cause a twinge of association in all of us.

Rating:
Summary: Yet another gem from Spain
Review: MONDAYS IN THE SUN can be viewed as a bleak moratorium lived out by shipyard workers in a Spanish community who have been laid off thier jobs without apparent reason. Some of the characters react by accepting menial jobs as temporizing, their wives work packing smelly tuna in cans, and others react with a venom that is only slightly beneath the skin and strike out at the establishment for allowing their jobs to be taken by cheaper foreign countries (ships will now be built in Korea). Sound familiar? Well, here in a minimal setting we have all of the chaos and loss of dignity of the unemployed of the world portrayed by a talented cast and directed with realistic fervor. Javier Bardem once again proves that he is a consummate actor, taking the lead role of a man without money, job, and respect and somehow finds humanism in this grim part. The story progresses slowly, not unlike the sad days of the men who while away their useless lives in a bar owned by on of their comrades. In this micro setting we are given macro feelings and emotions and a sense of camaraderie that overcomes the sadness of their lives. This is not an entertaining movie. This is a contemporary statement about a large part of our society and can't help but cause a twinge of association in all of us.

Rating:
Summary: Sterling acting, shallow story
Review: The story is imbued with the European mindset that people are owed a job and a meaningful life by either businesses or the government. Those who accept that view sacrifice their responsibility, and therefore a chunk of their humanity. So, the characters in this film hobble along rather pathetically and childishly, waiting for someone to restart their lives. Bardem is a fine actor, and the others do well, but this is a slight film offering no useful insights. It stands in stark contrast to films by the great director, Zhang Yimou, whose characters inhabit far more difficult conditions, but who struggle mightily to overcome the odds and maintain their pride. As one of the characters hints when slandering Koreans, a Europe awash in the welfare state has much to fear from industrious workers from Asia and elsewhere.