Fernando León de Aranoa (right) and Javier Bardem, before the presentation in San Sebastián of 'The Good Patron' Carlos Alvarez / Getty Images
It happened here.
20 years ago?
It was one of those miraculous moments in which the cinema gives you everything.
Of everything good.
Laughter, emotion, sadness, lucidity, complexity, pity, understanding, truth.
This extraordinary film titled
Mondays to the sun
.
I still see it, but even if the characters, the situations, the dialogues would not be embedded in my memory in perpetuity.
Santa, the protagonist, that long-term unemployed and survival expert, tongue-tied, shameless, scathing, canallita, friend of his friends, supportive, rebellious, generous, rabid with a cause, with deep knowledge of the lamentable state of things, interpreted as Great way by Javier Bardem, he is one of my most beloved heroes (albeit a loser) in the history of Spanish cinema.
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That exceptional talent and sensitivity that Fernando León de Aranoa demonstrated I did not see again in his later cinema.
I even remember a movie of his, like
Princesses,
that got on my nerves, that irritated me more than it should.
With the
good boss
he manages to amuse me, make me smile on many occasions, that at some point burst out laughing. They are sensations that I greatly appreciate in life and in the cinema. And it is very difficult for me to remember films of recent times, and none in what we have been at the festival, that provoke those gestures so liberating, so joyful. It is achieved by the intelligence that displays a very worked script, with irony, bad host and high cynicism in many moments and in a few (there is a sequence that takes place in a club of ladies whores that seems very weak, with the acting very past of one of his interpreters) with an annoying tendency to grotesque. But the end result is remarkable. And it houses one of the most impressive compositions, filling the screen, giving nuances to his character, giving off a very powerful magnetism,that I remind him of that immense actor that is Javier Bardem. Just for his performance it is worth seeing
The good boss.
Javier Bardem, in the center, in 'El buen patron'.
Bardem appears with a mask and a strange and disturbing appearance. His character is too. He is the owner of a successful scale company in a provincial town. He can also be a bastard, a manipulator, a pro at emotional cheating, when things threaten to get nasty. He does not disdain negotiation in the face of labor or sentimental dangers that can destroy his public image and that of his company. Blackmails, buys, sells, lies, assaults. But that guy who is abominable deep down and twisted in form also has his grace. And it considers essential the control of everything that affects its business, its social recognition, the aid provided by the institutions. But it can be complicated by employees who do not accept their dismissal, a foreman who neglects his work due to a marital crisis,an overly clever lover. I don't know if Fernando León wants a fierce portrait of pure and simple capitalism, but this powerful, pragmatic, Machiavellian and perverse guy at times manages to make me understand him, even inspire me with some compassion. And, I repeat, it is impossible on any plane to take your eyes and ears away from Javier Bardem. Awards for best actor and best actress no longer exist at this festival. There is only one for the best performance. Decision that scandalized me. By silly. I suspect that if the jury is honest they are going to have a moral problem in awarding the award.it is impossible on any plane to take your eyes and ears away from Javier Bardem. Awards for best actor and best actress no longer exist at this festival. There is only one for the best performance. Decision that scandalized me. By silly. I suspect that if the jury is honest they are going to have a moral problem in awarding the award.it is impossible on any plane to take your eyes and ears away from Javier Bardem. Awards for best actor and best actress no longer exist at this festival. There is only one for the best performance. Decision that scandalized me. By silly. I suspect that if the jury is honest they are going to have a moral problem in awarding the award.