O Bom Patrão

El buen patrón (The Good Boss) is a sarcastic and brilliant tragicomedy about power, work, human relationships, submission, infidelity, dignity, injustice, and balance. Masterly written & directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, with a stunning and brilliant performance by Javier Bardem, a stellar supporting cast and great music by Zeltia Montes (with a melody that you will hum afterwards), El buen patrón will make you laugh, cry, enjoy, and reflect on the balances and imbalances of the working life, marriage, and power. 10/10.

This movie manages to be both terrifically funny and very much down to earth at the same time. The story contains enough twists and turns expanding throughout an eventful week to keep you invested enough. But there comes Bardem and makes everything glorious just with his face and his amazingly expressive eyes. A great Spanish movie, I would dare to say it may be one of the finest of the year. Not to be missed!

Javier Bardem performs the character of a seemingly likeable fatherly figure boss that is extremely twisted, rule-bending and immoral underneath, perfectly. Even though at times the script is incredibly cringe and hyperbolic, this satire successfully delivers the message of the limits that corruption and corporate world can make people reach. It is a comedy that you leave feeling more disturbed than a drama or a thriller.

What makes for a Good Boss? Successful in business. Dedicated to the company. Loyal to his workers. At first glance Blanco (Javier Bardem) seems to check all the boxes and more. Blanco runs a respected corporation building weight scales. He's charming, handsome and loves to get up close and personal in all his affairs.

Writer-Director Fernando Leon de Aranoa sets in motion a fairly simple plotline. Blanco's company is up for a prestigious industry award. Within a few days, an official committee will be touring his factory and offices to see if they are worthy. As expected, over those days little fires start popping up: A disgruntled worker (Oscar de la Fuente) is laid off, a pretty new intern (Almudena Amor) catches Blanco's eye, his trusted Production chief (Manolo Solo) is letting his home issues affect his work etc. Etc..

At first, these seem like petty issues which Blanco can put out without much muss amounting to small nuisances on the way to the next prized plaque in his trophy case. De Aranoa's script and direction are sharp. Little details are cleverly dropped in at precisely the right moment. As they accumulate, the story becomes a sly, dark satire. Bardem's breezy charisma is clear and ever-present, but, the actor subtly reveals a more steely side. The supporting cast is strong with Zeltia Montes' score boosting them along for the ride.

In the end the cynical capitalist message is that to be a truly 'Good Boss' one only has to think about what benefits only a single person no matter how large the corporation: YOU.

THE GOOD BOSS was last year's official Best International Film Oscar submission by Spain somewhat controversially edging out Almodovar's excellent PARALLEL MOTHERS. Both are really fine movies that are certainly worth seeing.

The writing of the dialogue is terrific. Every carefully-scripted word and situation is loaded with bad blood, mercilessly shelling out the miseries of labor relations in Spain. Bardem's performance as a paternalistic and cronyistic businessman is superlative. A necessary condition to fully enjoy the film, since everything revolves around him. A tad slow development of the story notwithstanding (stylistically justified around a metaphor of balancing the scales?), we are in for a ride.