With a style reminiscent of the Coen brothers’ trademark cinematic sarcasm, especially in their quirkier works like Burn After Reading, León de Aranoa artfully spins a story (which he also wrote) of bad behavior trying to pass itself off as good.

As things begin to unravel, especially after longtime production manager and childhood buddy Miralles (Manolo Solo) has a meltdown after his marriage falls apart, Blanco needs to figure out how to save his livelihood - not to mention his own marriage, which could be compromised by his conquest of a new intern, Liliana (Almudena Amor), who turns out to be the daughter of an old family friend.

His victims include the recently fired José (Óscar de la Fuente), who has decided to stage a one-man protest in front of the factory gates, as well as countless female interns who have clearly been hired for their looks - a fact the director harps on a little too eagerly.īlanco is forever preaching a strong, moral work ethic to his employees - the words “Effort, Equilibrium, Loyalty” are painted in red on the warehouse walls like agitprop for the capitalist patriarchy - but he’s willing to stomp over anyone to remain a power player in the minor world of perfectly calibrated measuring devices. As the heir to his father’s medium-size business, Básculas Blanco, one of Spain’s leading manufacturers of professional-grade scales, Blanco rules over his staff with a seduce-and-destroy mentality, wheeling them in with his fatherly ways and then casting them off when they no longer serve his needs. Venue: San Sebastian Film Festival (Competition)Ĭast: Javier Bardem, Manolo Solo, Almudena Amor, Óscar de la Fuente, Tarik Rmiliĭirector-screenwriter: Fernando León de Aranoaīardem plays Blanco, another ironic name given that his character is anything but pristine.

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