I walked into the theatre with high expectations. MONDAYS IN THE SUN is the film submitted by Spain for consideration for our Academy's foreign film Oscar over the lauded TALK TO HER directed by Pedro Almodovar. MONDAYS IN THE SUN had cleaned up at the Spanish academy awards, winning 5 Goyas including Best Film, Best Director(Fernando Leon de Aranda), and three acting awards.
This socially-conscious drama concerns a group of middle-age, laid-off dockworkers who have been friends for many years. After a brief scene of labor unrest, the film flashes forward three years to find Santa (Goya winner Javier Bardem) still dealing with feelings of rage and regret, and Jose (Luis Tovar) trying to adjust to changes in his relationship with his attractive wife, a worker at the local fish cannery. Lino, the oldest of the group, has not lost hope of finding adequate employment in their economically depressed port town in Northern Spain. At the local bar, the trio meet other former colleages, including some who've managed to adjust better to the closing of the shipyards.
I had no difficulty empathizing with these men's plight. I was impressed with the script for deliniating characters clearly and managing to inject humor, even hilarity, into a rather grim scenario. The direction is mostly unobtrusive-Rosellini would approve. It's the performances that propel MONDAYS IN THE SUN and make it one of the best films of 2003.
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