Excellent film that has been awarded with La Concha de Oro in the San Sebastián Film Festival. That prize was fully deserved because it's one of the best films made this year. Fernando León de Aranoa, its director, is a young filmmaker who, alongside Amenábar, Urquizu or Balagueró, is changing the Spanish Cinema that has been plagued with boring films on the civil war and stupid comedies with the sex as onli motto. The above mentioned fellows are fresh air for this industry. León de Aranoa was reckoned as a promising director after his first work,"Familia", but with "Barrio" and "Los Lunes al Sol" he demonstrates that he's already one of the most talented artists. The film is the story of a group of unemployed who have suffered the shutdown of the dockyard where they used to work. They are in their forties and living an almost hopeless situation. They've seen how his entire world has vanished, they wonder if the future will come to save their lives which seem to be like sinking ships and the friendship and togetherness are the only lifeboats they know. This work reminds me the Ken Loach's films, but the British director's movies scream, to say, because they're very combative and somehow obvious whereas León de Aranoa's one uses a low voice, it's very subtle but highly effective as you can feel the horror of the situation. Not all the credit is to the director, the actors are absolutely outstanding with Javier Bardem as the leader and alma mater of this extraordinary cast. Bardem plays "Santa", a man who struggles to keep on dreaming and hoping without losing his principles and maintaining the group together. Located in the industrial northern Spain, once a prosperous area, nowadays a declining and gloomy one, it's an example of the today's Spain which according to president Aznar is OK (España va bien, he said) and it's truth that the rich people are getting richer and richer but what about the working class? This film is a needed one to learn the lesson and to make people know what's going on, because you might be the next one.
Review of Mondays in the Sun
