The Measure of a Man (2015)
(La loi du marché)
Country: FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 93m
Director: Stéphane Brizé
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Karine de Mirbeck
Synopsis:
An unemployed machine tool operator, frustrated by mishandling of his case on the part of the employment agency, takes a job as a store detective at a hypermarket.
Review:
A very hard film to synopsize, because it would easily give the wrong impression if reduced to a couple of sentences. The fact is that Thierry is not simply disgusted by the company's treatment of his fellow employees, as some sites will no doubt have it: the film is far subtler than that. In many ways the management bends over backwards to treat people 'correctly'. It is rather that, having been subjected to a series of humiliating confrontations with bureaucracy and the labour market, Thierry has little by little had his self-respect eaten away. This is essentially a critique of the modern globalized economy, where the possession of a carefully honed skill and an ability to see the fruits of one's labours are taken away from workers, as they become cogs in the capitalist machine. There is a telling scene in which Thierry and his wife negotiate the sale of their mobile home with a couple who clearly just want to get a 'good deal', not a fair deal, but to 'rip the other party off'. And this is the same trait shown by customers and employees at the supermarket. The film does not blame them, but the system, and as such it challenges us.
(La loi du marché)
Country: FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 93m
Director: Stéphane Brizé
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Karine de Mirbeck
Synopsis:
An unemployed machine tool operator, frustrated by mishandling of his case on the part of the employment agency, takes a job as a store detective at a hypermarket.
Review:
A very hard film to synopsize, because it would easily give the wrong impression if reduced to a couple of sentences. The fact is that Thierry is not simply disgusted by the company's treatment of his fellow employees, as some sites will no doubt have it: the film is far subtler than that. In many ways the management bends over backwards to treat people 'correctly'. It is rather that, having been subjected to a series of humiliating confrontations with bureaucracy and the labour market, Thierry has little by little had his self-respect eaten away. This is essentially a critique of the modern globalized economy, where the possession of a carefully honed skill and an ability to see the fruits of one's labours are taken away from workers, as they become cogs in the capitalist machine. There is a telling scene in which Thierry and his wife negotiate the sale of their mobile home with a couple who clearly just want to get a 'good deal', not a fair deal, but to 'rip the other party off'. And this is the same trait shown by customers and employees at the supermarket. The film does not blame them, but the system, and as such it challenges us.
(La loi du marché)
Country: FR
Technical: col/2.35:1 93m
Director: Stéphane Brizé
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Karine de Mirbeck
Synopsis:
An unemployed machine tool operator, frustrated by mishandling of his case on the part of the employment agency, takes a job as a store detective at a hypermarket.
Review:
A very hard film to synopsize, because it would easily give the wrong impression if reduced to a couple of sentences. The fact is that Thierry is not simply disgusted by the company's treatment of his fellow employees, as some sites will no doubt have it: the film is far subtler than that. In many ways the management bends over backwards to treat people 'correctly'. It is rather that, having been subjected to a series of humiliating confrontations with bureaucracy and the labour market, Thierry has little by little had his self-respect eaten away. This is essentially a critique of the modern globalized economy, where the possession of a carefully honed skill and an ability to see the fruits of one's labours are taken away from workers, as they become cogs in the capitalist machine. There is a telling scene in which Thierry and his wife negotiate the sale of their mobile home with a couple who clearly just want to get a 'good deal', not a fair deal, but to 'rip the other party off'. And this is the same trait shown by customers and employees at the supermarket. The film does not blame them, but the system, and as such it challenges us.