Am a great fan of foreign language films (am especially familiar with French, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian cinema, some of it animated) and, having studied it at school and music college, French is very close to my heart. It is a lovely and poetic language, very easy on the ears and in my mind one of the more accessible languages to learn.
Laurent Cantet was an unfamiliar name to me until fairly recently, when his work was recommended to me while on a break from reviewing. Decided to start familiarising myself with him and his films from the beginning, so with this directing debut 'Human Resources', because his subjects and themes sounded so intriguing and relatable. Essentially an industrial drama dealing with the clash of class and family loyalties, along with social family issues and tensions in the work-place, 'Human Resources' on the most part was a very well done and powerful directing debut and as a film overall. Do feel that nearly twenty years on that it is one of Cantet's better films, one does not say that a lot, meaning starting on one of their better films, when directors make their film debuts.
'Human Resources' may have been made on a low-budget, some have said direct to video, but it did not look cheap and actually gave the film a realism. Some of the shots are quite beautiful surprisingly. Cantet directs with remarkable skill and efficiency, clearly engaging with the material and balancing it surprisingly well. The script is thought-provoking and succeeds in not making the tension heavy-handed and making the family drama realistic and easy to relate to.
Really admired much of the storytelling here in 'Human Resources'. It is at its best in the father-son relationship, that was very genuine and had a lot of authenticity and emotion, their climactic moments heart-wrenching. The work-place tension is also handled realistically and assuredly, anybody who has been through the same thing or similar will find themselves relating. The characters compel, especially the lead character and his father, and it is hard to believe that the excellent Jalil Lespert was the sole professional actor of the cast when Jean-Claude Vallod was also on dynamite form. Their intense and heartfelt chemistry drives the film. Chantal Barre and feisty Danielle Melador make good impressions too.
Do feel that the resolution of the strike could have been handled with more restraint, the resolution did feel a little laid on too thick.
It is also very hard most likely to give dimension and subtlety to the dishonest boss type of character, high up in the list of top 10 character types in films at most risk of being written and played as a caricature. Something that was felt by me watching Lucien Longueville's performance.
Overall though, very well done film. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Laurent Cantet was an unfamiliar name to me until fairly recently, when his work was recommended to me while on a break from reviewing. Decided to start familiarising myself with him and his films from the beginning, so with this directing debut 'Human Resources', because his subjects and themes sounded so intriguing and relatable. Essentially an industrial drama dealing with the clash of class and family loyalties, along with social family issues and tensions in the work-place, 'Human Resources' on the most part was a very well done and powerful directing debut and as a film overall. Do feel that nearly twenty years on that it is one of Cantet's better films, one does not say that a lot, meaning starting on one of their better films, when directors make their film debuts.
'Human Resources' may have been made on a low-budget, some have said direct to video, but it did not look cheap and actually gave the film a realism. Some of the shots are quite beautiful surprisingly. Cantet directs with remarkable skill and efficiency, clearly engaging with the material and balancing it surprisingly well. The script is thought-provoking and succeeds in not making the tension heavy-handed and making the family drama realistic and easy to relate to.
Really admired much of the storytelling here in 'Human Resources'. It is at its best in the father-son relationship, that was very genuine and had a lot of authenticity and emotion, their climactic moments heart-wrenching. The work-place tension is also handled realistically and assuredly, anybody who has been through the same thing or similar will find themselves relating. The characters compel, especially the lead character and his father, and it is hard to believe that the excellent Jalil Lespert was the sole professional actor of the cast when Jean-Claude Vallod was also on dynamite form. Their intense and heartfelt chemistry drives the film. Chantal Barre and feisty Danielle Melador make good impressions too.
Do feel that the resolution of the strike could have been handled with more restraint, the resolution did feel a little laid on too thick.
It is also very hard most likely to give dimension and subtlety to the dishonest boss type of character, high up in the list of top 10 character types in films at most risk of being written and played as a caricature. Something that was felt by me watching Lucien Longueville's performance.
Overall though, very well done film. 8/10 Bethany Cox