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The Measure Of a Man

As a person grows older, so does the amount of responsibility. The carefree days slowly fade away and eventually the 9-5 grind becomes the norm. One common fear for this majority is the loss of income. Nothing's scarier than losing your income and having to figure out how to pay for thousands of dollars worths of bills. Most individuals don't have enough to last 2-3 months. Most don't even have 1,000 dollars saved. This with many other factors can be a death sentence for people, and The Measure of a Man presents this fear in a harrowing light

The Measure of a Man (directed by Stéphane Brizé) follows an unemployed factory worker (played by Vincent Lindon) by the name of Thierry Taugourdeau, in working-class France. With the combination of age and only have a niche set of skills, finding work proves to be an obstacle.

The director pulls no stops when it comes to grounding the film in reality. The film almost seems like some sad documentary. Each conversation scripted to be as grounded as possible. One example would be the scene right from the beginning. It establishes in the first couple of minutes just how dire Thierry's situation is. You watch as her argues with agency worker, explaining how he just spent months training to be a crane operator, just to find out that experience plays a huge factor in the hiring process. You see how much this weighs on him, and how it affects the people around him.

The film comes with no score, other than the one song for the credits at the end of the film. Another decision made to contribute to the realism of the film. No dramatic cues telling you how to feel. This was a risky movie, and fell onto the actors to actively convey the emotions in the film. This decision, for the most part, pans out perfectly. The only times it doesn't work out is when the scenes seem to drag on just a little too long, which seems like a reoccuring theme. During the film, there's a scene where Thierry and his wife (played by Karine de Mirbeck), are selling their mobile home they used for vacation. They haggle on the price, and the awkward exchange feels qeniue at first. Eventually, it goes on for too long, and you feel like it's a little forced. Thankfully, these scenes are few in between.

The Measure of a Man presents a fear that any working person has time to time. I would almost say this is the best horror thriller of the year based on the fact that it presents you with a real world problem, and makes you feat it. I've never felt more drive to do my job than after I saw this film. The amazing performances combined with the realism provided by the script creates a film that leaves you wondering "What if this happened to me?"

8/10

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.

I had the honor to watch the premiere of this beautiful film in Cannes. I am glad to see that there are still experienced directors that can make film like this one: relatively low budget, simple cinematography, a few but good actors, few locations but with a very good story telling. Stephane Brize' is able to tell his story in an entertaining way even if mainly using long uncut scenes and very simple camera setting. No shot and counter shot, none of the usual Hollywood techniques. The director take his time lingering to build tension and emotions.

Everything is based on the skills of the actors, with witty dialogues and situations that recalls the sitcom but with a dramatic treatment. It's an intelligent critic to the French society. Every young filmmaker should watch and learn from this film.

This is less a 'drama' than a documentary of what happens to people when their already difficult lives are made worse by thoughtless organizations and stupid funding regimes. Thierry has been laid off from his factory job. Presumably, he has stuck this sort of mindless work because he has a disabled son who needs constant care. Thierry is doing everything he can to keep his family together whilst barely scraping together an income. Unemployment is made worse by the organisations who are supposed to be there to help him back to work. They send him on inappropriate training schemes wasting everyone's time and effort as there is no work to be got afterwards. After numerous humiliations Thierry gets himself a shop security job and finds he's forced into making judgements about others that are, in reality, in as dire straights as himself. We wonder at what point he will break, and what he will do when he breaks? Its not a good ending but then, this is all too real for far too many people.

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.