Los lunes al sol (2002)

Director:

Fernando León de Aranoa

Writers:

Fernando León de Aranoa (screenplay) and
Ignacio del Moral (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 September 2002 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

This film is not based on a real story. It is based on thousands.

Plot:

This is the story of those who live in a constant Sunday, those who spend mondays under the Sun. The story of people who worked in a dockyard but now are unemployed.

Plot Keywords:

Bar | Shipyard | Australia | Astronaut | Siamese Twins

Awards:

39 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Javier Bardem	...	Santa
Luis Tosar	...	José
José Ángel Egido	...	Lino (as José Angel Egido)
Nieve de Medina	...	Ana
Enrique Villén	...	Reina
Celso Bugallo	...	Amador
Joaquín Climent	...	Rico
Aida Folch	...	Nata
Serge Riaboukine	...	Serguei
Laura Domínguez	...	Ángela
Pepo Oliva	...	Samuel
Fernando Tejero	...	Lázaro
Andrés Lima	...	Abogado
Antonio Mourelos	...	Juez
César Cambeiro	...	Fiscal (as Cesar Cambeiro)

Also Known As:

I lunedì al sole (Italy)
Les lundis au soleil (France)
Mondays in the Sun (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

Spain | France | Italy

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Ireland:15A | Norway:11 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Gijón, Oviedo, Asturias, Spain

Company:

Antena 3 Televisión

Quotes:

Santa: What day is today?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Spanish Movie (2009)

Soundtrack:

Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)

A sensitive and compelling movie, wonderfully acted and pictured

It is really a pity that such a wonderful, compelling and important film, isn't able to get through to a bigger audience. But however.

"Los lunes al sol" is very calm and slow but all the more empathetic, touching and above all compelling.

The film shows the dull everyday life of a group of jobless deckhands, who try to get their lives back under control. One of them gets goes to job interviews almost every day, but gets refusal after refusal, because is too old. Another one has familial troubles because of his dismissal and another one drowns his frustration in regular boozing.

Despite the obvious socio-critical message of it, the film doesn't get polarizing or hostile to capitalism at any time, thanks to the terrific performances of all actors (above all Javier Bardem), and the sensitive script that particularly emphasizes the character's conflicts and their dealing with their situations. The note of the film is not a very political or even cynical one, it is very tranquil and melancholic. The actual brilliance of the film consists in the awesomely empathetic portrayal of the feelings of the jobless persons, that have to get used to the situation, that they are the scum of society from now on.

The beautiful soundtrack and the excellent editing and cinematography add to the sad but at times also hopeful atmosphere.

It's actually a great pity that no other film before has dealt with such an important issue that affects almost everybody's everyday life today.

Michael Moore could learn a lesson from Fernando León de Aranoa of how to combine social criticism and the affected person's fates. I wish there could be more films like this, that let you leave the theater with a comfortable feeling, but that give a thought provoking impulse at the same time.