During and after Argentina's economic meltdown in 1998-2002 many factories, closed by their owners, were occupied by the workers who walked in, unrolled sleeping mats and refused to leave. They faced off against the bosses, the bankers, the police, the whole globalization system and the concept of "sanctity of private property", an oxymoron often bandied about in Argentina. The battle was uphill but there were victories; many factories passed to worker's control and continued functioning instead of being scrapped. This is shown in the 2004 documentary The Take by Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein.
The title Industria Argentina: La fábrica es para los que trabajan means Made in Argentina; the factory is for those that work. The scenario is an auto parts factory employing less than a dozen workers. The company is on its way down: machines are obsolete and poorly maintained and workers have not been paid for months. The owner claims everything will be back to normal as soon as he signs a (fictitious) contract with a Brazilian company. One of the workers protests too forcefully and is fired. The others declare a strike, and the owner answers with a lockout of indefinite length, during which he tries (surreptitiously, at night) to empty the factory of everything of value. Finally, the workers, with the help of a labor lawyer form a syndicate and initiate legal action to take possession of the factory.
I liked this movie. It reminded me at times of Ken Loach's or the Dardenne brothers' best work, but there is no attempt at imitation. Workers are not idealized or pictured with condescension. The script veers at times into the oversentimental and there is a whiff of Hollywood (the evil female court officer) but there are also many cogent observations on pride of workmanship and caring for one's family. The film also shows convincingly how a loose group of coworkers/friends can evolve into a coherent unit aware of its own strengths.
The title Industria Argentina: La fábrica es para los que trabajan means Made in Argentina; the factory is for those that work. The scenario is an auto parts factory employing less than a dozen workers. The company is on its way down: machines are obsolete and poorly maintained and workers have not been paid for months. The owner claims everything will be back to normal as soon as he signs a (fictitious) contract with a Brazilian company. One of the workers protests too forcefully and is fired. The others declare a strike, and the owner answers with a lockout of indefinite length, during which he tries (surreptitiously, at night) to empty the factory of everything of value. Finally, the workers, with the help of a labor lawyer form a syndicate and initiate legal action to take possession of the factory.
I liked this movie. It reminded me at times of Ken Loach's or the Dardenne brothers' best work, but there is no attempt at imitation. Workers are not idealized or pictured with condescension. The script veers at times into the oversentimental and there is a whiff of Hollywood (the evil female court officer) but there are also many cogent observations on pride of workmanship and caring for one's family. The film also shows convincingly how a loose group of coworkers/friends can evolve into a coherent unit aware of its own strengths.
