Ressources humaines (1999)
Directed by Laurent Cantet

Film Review

Laurent Cantet earned instant critical acclaim with this remarkably effective social drama which is founded on the growing rift between the working and management classes in France.  The late 1990s saw an upsurge in trade union militancy, and the introduction of the 35 hour week, although well intentioned, merely helped to heighten the distrust between workers and management.  Ressources humaines uses this industrial unrest as a background to explore the complex relationship between a working class father and his ambitious son.  Whilst the former is trapped in a life of monotony and routine from which there is - literally - no escape, the latter, through his education, has complete freedom to choose his destiny - or so he thinks.

Though both the content and narrative style of the film are simple, Ressources humaines is a truly compelling work which provokes many questions on a whole raft of complex sociological issues.  Keenly observed, it shows both sides of the equation - workers and management - in an even-handed manner, without really siding with either.  Sure, it is easier to sympathise with the workers, who are treated - somewhat cynically - as "resources", just like the inanimate machinery they stand over all day.  However, it is made clear that without the management they would have no jobs, no livelihood.  So, whilst we may question the morality of their methods, the management are at least partly vindicated in their actions.  Whilst the managers are duplicitous, arrogant and manipulative, the workers are unmotivated, single-minded and submissive.  Intelligence and educational opportunities may have a factor in determining into which camp an individual ends up, but personal traits are also a dominant factor.

The greatest conflict arises when an individual has both the education of the management elite and the mentality and sympathies of the working class.   This schizoid dichotomy is represented by the film's lead character, Franck, a bright young business graduate who ends up having to square his own ambitions with his working class origins.   It makes depressing viewing because there is no neat resolution and, ultimately, the torn Franck finds himself rejected by the side (the working class) he felt morally obliged to support.  His education has given him a wider perspective - so he can see how unjust and wasteful the life of a factory worker must be - plus the opportunity to better himself.  Unfortunately, there is nothing he can do help others from his social milieu.

The other tragic irony is that Franck's father's sole dream was to see him become one of the greasy management elite - the prestige of seeing his son as a boss totally eclipsing any notion that he might be betraying his own social class.  The rapport between Franck and his father beautifully characterises their own different perspectives and their fraught relationship.  Neither can ever live up to the other's expectations, hence the gulf between them can only ever increase.  Therein lies the tragedy of the film.

The impact of the film stems largely from its striking documentary style, which derives from it being shot entirely on location with a cast of mainly non-professional actors.  Only the film's central character, Franck, was played by a professional actor - Jalil Lespert.  The rest of the cast was made up of unemployed men and women in the Normandy region where the film was shot.   It is this, more than anything, which gives the film its sense of authenticity - these are living, breathing individuals, not stock characters played by skilled actors.  From the relentlessly bellicose Madame Arnoux to the creepily manipulative director of human resources, all of the characters are well-drawn and believable - simply because the actors are playing themselves in real life.

Rightly, the focus of the film is the relationship between Franck and his father, and it is thanks to two remarkable performances - from Jalil Lespert and Jean-Claude Vallod - that the film achieves such an immense impact.  When he first appears, Jalil Lespert is every inch the cocky young student, who thinks that textbook answers can solve all the world's ills.  Although he perhaps lacks the experience to be totally convincing, Lespert conveys some measure of the internal conflict his character experiences when he realises how complex and insoluble his situation has become.   Lespert benefits from Jean-Claude Vallod's poignant portrayal as Franck's father.  Not only is Vallod one hundred per cent convincing in his role but he persuades us that Lespert is indeed his son and pours out so much of his own personal feeling in his performance, remarkably with so little dialogue and physical movement.  In one touching scene, Franck's father is seen labouring alongside his son in his garden shed - a striking contrast to an earlier scene where he is performing a solitary repetitive chore on the factory floor.  In the former, the fruit of his labours is a beautiful piece of furniture, in the latter a nondescript piece of metal in a soulless piece of machinery.  Another poignant reminder that talent is not enough to succeed in this life.

By any standards, Ressources humaines is a moving and provocative piece of cinema.  Its effect is amplified by its intelligent even-handedness, apparent simplicity and naturalistic performances.  Life, it tells us, is complex, unfair and often difficult - it offers no simple solutions.  The role of a good social drama is to inform, to increase our awareness of social issues so that we may collectively strive to improve things. Ressources humaines is precisely that kind of film - an insightful and thought-provoking work which offers an eloquent no-nonsense reflection of the kind of world we now live in - a world still torn by social divisions.

Possibly the film's most controversial statement concerns the role of education in breaking down the class barriers.  Far from solving the problem, universal education appears to be aggravating the situation - not just increasing the rift between the classes, but also providing an unwholesome justification for its existence.  Undoubtedly, a fortunate minority will escape the lower class they are born into and become craftsmen, businessmen, politicians or scientists.  But, inevitably, the rest are destined to end up as no more than human resources, and that is something the current education system will never resolve.

Film Synopsis

With a diploma in business studies under his belt, 22-year old Franck returns to his home village, looking forward to a successful business career.  He has been offered a placement job in the Human Resources department at the factory where his father has worked for the past 30 years.  Franck's new status as a trainee manager is at odds with his working class background and the strain soon begins to show.  He is discouraged from fraternising with workers on the factory floor - even though they include his father and former school friends.  Then he finds his job requires him to place the needs of the company above the needs of individual workers.  Franck is encouraged when the management agrees to his idea to organise a questionnaire, to get the workers' input into changes needed to implement the 35 hour week.  However, he soon discovers that he is being used as a political tool by a management who see redundancies as the only solution.  Shocked that his father is one of the workers to be dismissed, Franck takes matters into his own hands and precipitates industrial action.  Far from being pleased with his son's stand, Franck's father is sickened by what he sees as a cruel betrayal of his aspirations.