THE GOOD BOSS—A Brutal Irony

Movie Review by Sergio Martínez

This Spanish film, directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, may be open to several interpretations. Although set in the present day, it reminds us of the early days of industrial capitalism, when businessmen directly interacted with their workers and sources of financing. In a way, it takes us back to the "entrepreneurial and innovative businessman" outlined by Joseph Schumpeter, a sort of "revolutionary" who is directly involved in the management of his company. Indeed, a reality very different from that of contemporary capitalism in which companies are managed from a distance by anonymous boards of directors without direct intervention in the company's day-to-day operations.

Blanco (Javier Bardem) is very involved
with his employees 

However, the case of Blanco (Javier Bardem), owner of Básculas Blanco, a factory of industrial scales, being a medium-sized company, may still correspond to that early model of the entrepreneur. What makes Blanco even more remarkable is that his involvement with his employees is not limited to matters related to the factory's running but even to some of their own private lives. Such is the case of his production manager, Miralles (Manolo Solo), whose marital problems Blanco meddles beyond what is convenient, as Miralles' wife will let him know in a straightforward way.

In the business management model Blanco uses, there is a standard reference to the fact that they are all one big family. It is precisely the speech he gives at the film's beginning. Except that there will be one element that will not fit into that model: José (Oscar de la Fuente), a recently laid-off worker who will not take the employer's decision very well and who—to Blanco's growing displeasure— stages his own protest in front of the factory's main entrance. The increasingly noisy presence of the ex-employee may have a very negative effect when a regional government commission pays a visit to its facilities; Básculas Blanco is expecting to get a lucrative subsidy. The employer will undoubtedly do its best to get the disgruntled protester out of there.

Blanco's careful factory management also has other expressions: the boss shows a special interest in Liliana (Almudena Amor), a young woman who comes to do her internship in the company's offices. Liliana, however, will also know how to use the power that the relationship with the boss will bring her.

"Hard work, Balance, Loyalty" is the motto
of Basculas Blanco (Blanco Scales)

The Good Boss is a film that presents, in an ironic and even brutal way, the manipulative management of the factory owner, a critical allegory of the model of the "good boss" that still flows in some circles.

León de Aranoa delivers a film with a dynamic narrative that involves the viewer from the first scene--which towards the end will be relevant again when Blanco seeks to get rid of the annoying ex-employee who spends the night outside his company--to the scenes of the boss's relationship with Liliana. In that affair, the dichotomy of the charming man who simultaneously shows a relentless determination to achieve his goals is shown. Bardem plays his character brilliantly.

The Good Boss is an ironic look at the charming boss

The Good Boss is a film that we recommend. Suitable for all audiences, although its subject matter has subtleties more suitable for an adult audience.

Running time: 120 min.