La loi du marché

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.

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.

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

This is a Mike Leigh/Ken Loach-style drama, great contemporary social realism, French style, and all the better for it.

A middle-aged man's existence becomes precarious after he's laid-off from his skilled job. Transitioning via the unemployment industry to supermarket security guard is the challenge for our hero. His dialogue with petty bureaucracy is obviously the same in France as it is here. There is claustrophobia and frustration with the relentless, compassionless uselessness of the so-called support.

Witnessing with him a check-out worker's send-off after a lifetime on the job is suitably excruciating. The young, new boss has the honour of fare-welling simple, loyal Gisele who always smiles and was never late in 32 years; a career trajectory from the check-out to the deli section.

The little guy or gal, when he falls out of work, is screwed, especially if he's in his 50's. There are themes of the exploitation and degradation of working life and also of the demands of caring for a disabled dependent.

The story evolves slowly, documentary style, long takes in naturalistic settings. We experience the frustrations and humiliations of the unemployment industry through his jobnetwork appointments and programs. Futlity is a theme.

There are many lovely features and brilliant, understated acting mainly from Vincent Lindon who received a five-minute standing ovation at the Cannes premiere and went on to win the best actor prize both there and in the Cesar Awards.

This is a story about personal principles in our times; a disturbing look at the banal cruelty of modern employment and the struggles and battles of life more generally. When Mike Leigh and Ken Loach have lost their mojo, director Stéphane Brizé picks up the baton for the prols and gives the audience a measured, low-key, steadily building drama with big pay-offs.

The Measure of a Man is quite gut-wrenching and brilliant in its simultaneous simplicity and complexity. It should be compulsory viewing for all supermarket managers & Centrelink and Jobnet (Australia) employees.

Let's Go To The Pictures, Three D Radio, Andrew Bunney

A Ken Loach-a-like - showing real lives at a genuine pace, but without the hard edge. If the movie set out to show the crushing mundanity of the the lives of working class people, it succeeds. However, do not be put of by this, as the main protagonist manages to demonstrate a dignity throughout. Nevertheless, do not expect a hubris- cum-nemesis tale. It looks at the workaday politics that the majority of life's cannon fodder are forced to negotiate. A scene in which his performance at interview is analysed by peers is upsetting, demonstrating the schadenfreude characteristic of the socially-challenged, enjoying the notion that somebody is worse off than themselves... If you like Loach derivatives, you will certainly enjoy this.