Der Wert des Menschen

people seem to be missing the point on this. This is life how it happens. There is no great drama in a lot of our lives, just overcoming difficulties or succumbing to them. The protagonist here shows an incredible amount of grace when faced with many difficult situations. He's tried, over and over again, to do what is asked of him, most of it is reasonable, but it seldom actually helps his situation. It is very, very well acted and well photographed. I think it is like a modern Agnes Varda. You have to educate yourself and/or face a few situations like these shown to appreciate a film like this. I think folks are missing the point. Is the life portrayed common? Yes. Does the man try to rise above the things that have happened to him? Yes. Does he do so with a true sense of what is important and what isn't? Yes. Does he do so with a huge amount of grace? Yes, I think so, and that what impressed me most. It really does show what the measure of a man should be.

A very fine movie about life in the modern global economy. First the hero is cheated by a so-called training business center when he finds out there's no chance of his being hired for what he was trained in and the business knew it (see Trump and his so-called university -- but what do we expect from an illiterate egomaniac?). The hero who is barely hanging on to middle class life by his fingernails is constantly humiliated or badgered by experts who are "trying" to help. He winds up with a job at a box store in security where he sees people/customers humiliated, long term clerks fired for minor infractions caught on CCTV (that's the object, the co. -- a Walmart copycat -- is trying to trim down the staff and goes after long-term employees, one of whom commits suicide on the store premises). The hero also has a son with multiple sclerosis who has to pass inspection in order to qualify for college. This is what the social/economic net boils down to. The director is telling the truth ...

The French Film La loi du marché was shown in the United States with the title The Measure of a Man (2015). It was co-written and directed by Stéphane Brizé.

In a short introduction before the film began, the presenter pointed out the the actual translation of the French title would be "The Law of the Market." Both titles tell us something about the plot of the movie. "The Measure of a Man" emphasizes the basic humanity of the protagonist. "The Law of the Market" emphasizes the basic inhumanity of the marketplace-driven society in which he lives.

Vincent Lindon plays Thierry Taugourdeau, who has lost his skilled labor job because of a factory closure. (Other displaced workers want to sue the company for pulling out of France to go elsewhere. Apparently, this isn't legal if the company is making a profit in France. However, Thierry isn't interested.)

Thierry is accustomed to getting a good salary in a respected job. As the film opens, we learn that he has taken a three-month course in order to learn how to be a crane operator. He informs the government employment counselor that the course was worthless. Companies will only employ crane operators that are already experienced construction workers. Why did they advise him to take a course that couldn't lead to employment?

The film continues in the same vein. Thierry truly wants to work to support himself, his wife, and his son with cerebral palsy. (The son is portrayed by Matthieu Schaller, who does indeed have cerebral palsy.)

We follow Thierry from frustration to frustration as nothing he does brings him employment. Finally, he obtains employment, and that is where the measure of a man begins.

This is a fascinating--but painful--movie to watch. We're accustomed to unhappy stories in which the protagonists are down-and-out, and the situation is hopeless. This plot doesn't fit into that mold. Thierry has had a comfortable, middle-class life. He's intelligent and resourceful. Even so, he can't counter the forces of society that tell him that he and his family have to move down a notch--or more--in order to survive.

Vincent Lindon is brilliant in this role. We can identify with him and it is not a comfortable feeling. Lindon won the Best Actor award at Cannes for this portrayal, and I'm not surprised. It's worth seeing this film just for an opportunity to watch a superb actor succeeding in a difficult role.

We saw this film in the excellent Dryden Theatre in Rochester's George Eastman Museum. It was shown a part of the outstanding Rochester Labor Film Series.

For reasons I don't understand, this movie has a dismal IMDb rating of 6.8. Possibly, reviewers found it simply too depressing. Yes, it's depressing, but it reflects reality, and I think it's definitely worth seeking out. It's available on DVD and Blu-Ray. It's too important a film to miss.

LA LOI DU MARCHÉ's main quality is its honesty. Lindon, as the cdntral character, portrays the current Everyman, with the added burden of a handicapped child, which makes things that much more difficult. Lindon's performance is first class in its simplicity and honesty, but his wife, and his fellow workers also do very well in their smaller parts.

Direction is interesting, often using cinema verité moves, and it keeps targeting the sordid nature of human survival in the current world.

This is the problem we all face: we work to survive and, as we do, we compete with others also trying to survive, and we survive by ratting on them, and exposing the illegalities they commit. Given that no human is a saint, it is obvious that it is only a matter of time before you find somehing to send someone out of the "paradise" of employment. And once that has happened, the way back into the job market is well nigh impossible.

That is the law of the market, a law where human rights are easily trampled under the weight of economic and performance considerations, and where spying on, and suspecting, fellow human beings is bread and butter.

Lindon's character is looking hard for a job to meet his child's treatment's costs, and he has to accept duties that most of us would probably feel dismayed about. And so does he, and that is his moral dilemma by movie's end.

LA LOI DU MARCHÉ is not easy to watch, but its honesty makes it a must.

I love this kind of film. Fly on the wall and powerful. Nothing is spoon fed. It's one of the best ways to develop characters if its done well, and here the character journey is exceptional. Outstanding take on modern times and dealing with it. Thanks film makers. It's nice to have a break from violence and cheap thrills.