MONDAYS IN THE SUN (Los lines al sol)
# stars based on 4 stars: 3.5 Reviewed by: Harvey Karten Lions Gate Films Directed by: Fernando Leon de Aranea Written by: Fernando Leon de Aranea Cast: Javier Barded, Luis Tosar, Jose Angel Agate, Nieve de Medina, Celso Bugallo, Serge Riaboukine,, Enrique Villen, Joaquin Climent, Aida Folch Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 3/12/03
Sergei (Serge Rubicon), one of the minor characters in "Mondays in the Sun" an expatriate from the former Soviet Union now living in Northern Spain delivers an aphorism to his pals. "Unfortunately everything we were told about communism proved to be a lie. Also unfortunately, everything we were told about capitalism proved to be true." While "Los lines al sol," Fernando Leon de Aranea's latest feature effort, does not deal at all with communism (although we wonder whether such a system might be better for the characters he explores), the film puts capitalism on trial at a crucial time in its history when globalization is destroying lucrative jobs as corporations farm out their work to countries with barely adequate wage scales. But "Mondays in the Sun" did not win five Goya (Spanish Oscar) awards and did not become the official Spanish entry into our own academy awards competition for any documentary-style or academic investigation of modern economics. Mr. Leon's picture is a thoroughly entertaining, wholly character-driven look at a fairly homogeneous cross-section of Spain's shipyard workers that makes its political points with humor, with sorrow, with real humanity. Though Alfredo Mayo's lensing is marred by inadequate light (after all, much of the action takes place in a seedy bar in the town of Vigo on Spain's northwest corner), the film has found an audience eager to watch real people talking about how otherwise abstract economic issues bear heavily on their lives.
The film, which features ensemble teamwork of the highest caliber, is anchored by the prolific and excellent Javier Bardem, whom Americans may have seen in "Before Night Falls" (a compelling look at the life of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas as he discovers his homosexuality) and "The Dancer Upstairs" (a spy story that was inspired by the trial of alleged terrorist Laurie Berenson in Peru).
The scenes that take place in a bar so without soul that Sam Malone and Diane Chambers would not recognize it involve a small group of men who worked together on the shipyards until they were laid off because much of the work was farmed out to Korea. While all have been out of work for a while save for the bar's owner Rico (Joaquin Climent) and for an underemployed fellow, Reina (Enrique Villein) who is a night watchman, they are in different stages of cynicism. Most hard hit is Amador (Celso Bagel), who is older than the others and the heaviest drinker, a man who spouts almost unintelligible prose and is "waiting for his wife to return from a trip." He represents what may well happen to the others, such as Lino (Jose Angel Agate), who has little hope of finding a job for which he is qualified, and who is just plain too old to be hired by anyone despite his efforts at coloring his graying hair. Ana (Niece de Medina) is unhappily married to Jose (Luis Tsar), she suffers from a grueling night job at a cannery, at risk of serious illness because her arthritic legs will not carry her much longer. Santa (Javier Bardem), the most magnetic in the group, buries his woes behind a jolly, flirtatious surface and pipe dreams of living in Australia if only he could afford a plane ticket. Only Nata (Aida Folch), the bartender's 15-year-old daughter, remains high-spirited though what she learning by listening to these guys is making her more mature than any young woman should be.
"Mondays in the Sun" is the sort of film that could be played out on the live stage, the men sitting around talking, injecting quite a bit of humor in their otherwise unhappy discourse, but the movie works cinematically, particularly in a joyful scene in which Santa, who has already shown rebellion by breaking an 8,000-peseta lamp overlooking the docks, leads his friends at night aboard a ferry, breaking into the cabin and zipping across the bay.
What we come away with aside from smiles at their surprising good humor and empathy at their woes is the view that every adult who wants to work deserves a job. Looking at today's economy, when the poor nations are getting poorer and the richer countries are downsizing workers by the millions, we wonder whether the so-called captains of industry will have anyone left with the money to patronize their establishments.
Not Rated. 113 minutes. Copyright 2003 by Harvey Karten at Harveycritic@cs.com
========== X-RAMR-ID: 34356 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 851706 X-RT-TitleID: 10002139 X-RT-SourceID: 570 X-RT-AuthorID: 1123 X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4
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