Many who have worked in a capitalist firm have heard the phrase obsessively uttered by Julio Blanco, the main hero of 'El buen patrón' (the title is translated into English as 'The Good Boss'), the 2021 film by the Spanish director Fernando León de Aranoa: 'We are like a family and you are like my brothers or my children'. The phrase in the film refers to the scale factory of which Blanco is the owner, but it has been declaimed by hundreds of thousands or millions of owners, directors, or managers of capitalist firms. It reflects not only a paternalistic conception that tries to camouflage or alter the labor relations between owners and workers, bosses and subordinates, but also an attitude that when things are going well is accepted by most employees, but which is put to the test in moments of crisis. "El buen patrón" approaches this problem with a satirical tone, but at the end of the screening none of the viewers can be left with the impression that things have been arranged, despite a false happy-end.
Don Julio Blanco is a factory owner and control freak. He knows every detail and every employee of the factory. He positions himself as a fatherly owner, but it is not clear whether the title of Don is meant to be a sign of respect or rather reflects the tight control of the factory and its employees. He says - apparently in jest - that the employees belong to him, and at times he acts as if they are his property. He helps them using a system of relationships that includes politicians, the police, the press but also demands absolute loyalty from them. When he has to fire some of them he gives them bombastic speeches and pitiful compensations. The conflict starts when Jose, a fired worker refuses to accept the actions of the boss, his job being more important to him even than money. The confrontation that breaks out hits Don Julio at the worse moment: an inspection is going to visit the factory as it competes to be named a model enterprise, the head of production makes mistakes after mistakes being preoccupied with his cheating wife, and there is also the temptation of the presence to a young and attractive intern. The stability of his property and family situation seems to be threatened. No means is excluded to restore the balance. After all, it is a scale factory, and one of his mottos is that 'sometimes you have to cheat on the scale to get the exact weight'.
Don Julio in 'El buen patrón' is a sort of Spanish replica of the anti-hero from another film that I recently watched ('Gold' starring Matthew McConaughey), a capitalist who uses the system to succeed in the jungle of business and who does not hesitate, for this purpose, to destroy the destinies of those around him. However, the story takes place in Spain, so that the character oscillates between the mask of a paternalistic patron and Don Corleone-like actions supported by the conservative system of social and economic relations that we know from Bunuel's films 50 or more years ago. What has changed is the source of power - no longer noble or clerical authority but capitalist-style economic ownership. The chance of this film is the casting in the main role of Javier Bardem, an actor with immense talent and a lot of experience, who creates a complex and charismatic character that fills the screen. For a while he bewitches us, the viewers, just as his character cheats on those around him. The tone of the story is quite light and sprinkled with humor, there are good laughs during the screening, but this is comedy with a target, social satire with a precise address. Chances are good that those who see this film will check in the future that the scale used for weighing does not have any extra weight added to achieve the results desired by the manufacturer.
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