The Measure of A Man

France / 2015 / DCP / Colour / 91min　

Stephane BRIZE

“No one is truly vicious. But every on of us is participating in this oppression and violence in our society. This is our world.”--Stephane Brize (back translation, not exact quote.)

Stephane Brize is one of the greatest artists who is good at extracting the touching moment of daily routine. From his first short film Bleu Dommage, we can see that his sense of observation on every walks of life. In 2015, he worked with Vincent Lindon for the third time and won the Palme d'Or of Festival de Cannes. The film points straight to the core of the utilitarian society and brings up the issue of working as a necessity of life. How can workers survive from a tyranny employer?

Synopsis 

Thierry has been unemployed for 20 months, having lost his job as a factory worker. He can barely support his disabled son with his relief payments. After a series of humiliating ordeals in his search for work, he lands a new job as a security guard in a supermarket. However, he must spy on his co-workers at the behest of his boss. Facing one too many moral dilemmas, Thierry cannot decide what to do. This is a film that portraits a powerful and deeply troubling vision of the realities of the French new economic order. The leading actor of the film, Vincent Lindon, is the Prix d'interprétation masculine of 2015 Festival de Cannes. He clearly presents the struggle of workers from the bottom of the society.