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Human Resources (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Human Resources' is a 1999 French-British film directed by Laurent Cantet. As the title implies, the subject of the film is the workplace and the personal difficulties that result from conflicts among management and labour, corporations and individuals. It stars Jalil Lespert. Most of the other actors are non-professionals. It won the Csar Award for Best First Feature Film and the Csar Award for Most Promising Actor at the 26th Csar Awards.
Plot
Set in Gaillon, Normandy, the movie tells the story of "good son" Franck (Jalil Lespert), who returns to his hometown to do a trainee managerial internship in the Human Resources department of the factory where his anxious, taciturn father has worked on the shopfloor for 30 years. At first Franck is lauded by both friends and family for breaking through the glass ceiling and becoming "white-collar". But very soon hidden envy and rivalries erupt. Franck forms a friendship with Alain, a young worker whom his father has mentored. This mentoring in the blue-collar workforce is contrasted with the cagier, trust-less mentoring Franck receives in the white-collar world from his own supervisor, Chambon.
Franck discovers that his boss is going to use Franck's field study on the proposed 35-hour workweek to justify downsizing - and that Franck's father is among those to be let go. This leads to a confrontation between the trainee and management, between the workers and the owners, and ultimately between son and father. In the emotional climax, Franck confronts his father and accuses him of imbuing him with a legacy of shame at being blue-collar.
Cast
* Jalil Lespert as Franck
* Jean-Claude Vallod as Father
* Chantal Barr as Mother
* Vronique de Pandelare as Sylvie
* Michel Begnez as Olivier
* Lucien Longueville as The Boss
* Danielle Mlador as Madame Arnoux
* Pascal Smard as Human Resources Director
* Didier Emile-Woldemard as Alain
* Franoise Boutigny as Betty
* Flix Cantet as Flix
* Marie Cantet as Marie
* Stphane Tauvel as Christian
* Stphanie Chevret as The Secretary
Critical response
'Human Resources' received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 97%, based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 78 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
References
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