GOTTA SEE IT # 5 - "MONDAYS IN THE SUN"
“MONDAYS IN THE SUN”
Starring: Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar, Jose Angel Egido, Nieve de Medina, Enrique Villen, Celso Bugallo, Joaquin Climent, Aida Folch, Serge Riaboukine, Laura Dominguez.
Written by: Ignacio del Moral, Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Directed by: Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Colour – 2002
113 minutes.
Unity - one for all and all for one. In theory, it’s a concept that seems a given – one pledges loyalty to a collective and the collective reciprocates. In reality, though - especially in bleak and desperate times – this give and take relationship is often put to the test by the temptation of an easy way out.
Santa (Javier Bardem) is one of a group of former shipyard workers, living in Northern Spain, who was laid off some three years ago. He, along with his colleagues, are still jobless, still suffering from the demoralizing effects of this blow to their lives, to their identities, and, most importantly, to their sense of self worth. Santa is their leader, their conscience. He’s a big, bearded bull of a man titling his horns at selfishness and greed and charging at those who seek to weaken his sense of community. He’s the glue that holds everyone together and reminds them of why they are together in the first place.
Santa’s fellow unemployed are struggling with feelings of inadequacy – Jose (Luis Tosar) can’t deal with the fact that his wife, Ana (Nieve de Medina) is now the breadwinner; Paulino (Jose Angel Egido) is fighting his age, as he competes for jobs against workers twenty years his junior; and most sadly, Amador (a brief but touching performance by Celso Bugallo) has simply fallen apart. Fernando Leon de Aranoa and Ignacio del Moral capture the humanity of these lost souls. They contrast the impersonal world of unemployment offices, and, in one key scene, a cold and indifferent bank employee, with the, at times shaky, yet ultimately solid bond that these characters feel with one another.
In the haunted hush of scenes that pass by with much warmth and humour, you’ll find a portrait of lives adrift, moving further away from one another and, consequently, from what gives them strength and meaning. The jobs that they lost gave them a sense of self, a sense of pride, but it’s their relationships with each other that truly define and sustain them. Time and again, in MITS, characters are weakened when they act alone – they sabotage themselves, their marriages, their dignity. Yet - and, again, this is where the film’s heart beats loudest – when they rely on, trust, and generally put their faith in one another, they heal, they persevere and hold on to hope.
The script is thoughtful, respectful and only occasionally hits its’ notes too hard. The acting is superb, but not in a showy way. It’s honest, sometimes brutally so, with Bardem - who stands out in an excellent cast – putting most high priced Hollywood actors in their place with his cool, ragged charm and broken hearted bravado.
Starring: Javier Bardem, Luis Tosar, Jose Angel Egido, Nieve de Medina, Enrique Villen, Celso Bugallo, Joaquin Climent, Aida Folch, Serge Riaboukine, Laura Dominguez.
Written by: Ignacio del Moral, Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Directed by: Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Colour – 2002
113 minutes.
Unity - one for all and all for one. In theory, it’s a concept that seems a given – one pledges loyalty to a collective and the collective reciprocates. In reality, though - especially in bleak and desperate times – this give and take relationship is often put to the test by the temptation of an easy way out.
Santa (Javier Bardem) is one of a group of former shipyard workers, living in Northern Spain, who was laid off some three years ago. He, along with his colleagues, are still jobless, still suffering from the demoralizing effects of this blow to their lives, to their identities, and, most importantly, to their sense of self worth. Santa is their leader, their conscience. He’s a big, bearded bull of a man titling his horns at selfishness and greed and charging at those who seek to weaken his sense of community. He’s the glue that holds everyone together and reminds them of why they are together in the first place.
Santa’s fellow unemployed are struggling with feelings of inadequacy – Jose (Luis Tosar) can’t deal with the fact that his wife, Ana (Nieve de Medina) is now the breadwinner; Paulino (Jose Angel Egido) is fighting his age, as he competes for jobs against workers twenty years his junior; and most sadly, Amador (a brief but touching performance by Celso Bugallo) has simply fallen apart. Fernando Leon de Aranoa and Ignacio del Moral capture the humanity of these lost souls. They contrast the impersonal world of unemployment offices, and, in one key scene, a cold and indifferent bank employee, with the, at times shaky, yet ultimately solid bond that these characters feel with one another.
In the haunted hush of scenes that pass by with much warmth and humour, you’ll find a portrait of lives adrift, moving further away from one another and, consequently, from what gives them strength and meaning. The jobs that they lost gave them a sense of self, a sense of pride, but it’s their relationships with each other that truly define and sustain them. Time and again, in MITS, characters are weakened when they act alone – they sabotage themselves, their marriages, their dignity. Yet - and, again, this is where the film’s heart beats loudest – when they rely on, trust, and generally put their faith in one another, they heal, they persevere and hold on to hope.
The script is thoughtful, respectful and only occasionally hits its’ notes too hard. The acting is superb, but not in a showy way. It’s honest, sometimes brutally so, with Bardem - who stands out in an excellent cast – putting most high priced Hollywood actors in their place with his cool, ragged charm and broken hearted bravado.
Look out for “The Grasshopper and the Ant”, “The Siamese Twins” and a brilliant scene inside a soccer stadium. Look out for “Spregel”, hair dye and an achingly romantic line about a mermaid. But, most of all, look out for your heart, this film may just break it.
