"Sis dies corrents" or "The Odd-Job Men" is a pretty new Spanish movie originally released in 2021 and it finally also found its way to theaters in my country. I did not regret the watch at all. Maybe calling it a "hidden gem" would be slightly too much, but it is pretty decent. It is also a relatively short film at 85 minutes, so you will not even spend 1.5 hours in the movie theater or in front of a TV/laptop screen if you decide to go for this one. Duration felt right, no need to unnecessarily stretch it. Given how short the film is, there are nonetheless three writers credited here. One would be Neus Ballús who was also in charge of the direction and that one is a female filmmaker as you maybe would not have guessed immediately from the name. Not a rookie either. Still, there are quite a few rookies who were part of this project here, namely pretty much the entire cast. But this also proves that you do not need really big names to make a good film if you manage to deliver an interesting story. And they did here I'd say. I will talk a bit about the plot later on. The main reason for me to spontaneously watch this film today was that it is set in Barcelona and I travelled there little over a month ago. Eventually, I must say that did not make a huge impact and it also could have been set in other cities, maybe even countries and the film would have worked just equally well. So don't expect to see great tourist locations, many streets from the city here. Instead, it is all about the interactions between the characters. The film also scored a really solid amount of awards recognition for sure. And not just in Spain or at awards ceremonies linked to Catalonia especially (look the title), but also in other countries, on other continents even. I am glad this movie is getting some solid attention now. Not to be taken for granted. Still, I am not so sure if Mohamed Mellali really should have gotten first credit here. Maybe it also has a bit to do with him being the more likable of the two leads from this film. However, putting Valero Escolar in supporting is just wrong, even if it means he wins his category and the award. They are both leads and Mellali reminded me a bit of the young Günther Kaufmann. Also pay attention to how the characters carry the same names like their actors.
Now, let us look a bit at the plot: We have a handicraft business here run by a woman and there are two employees and at the start we find out that one of them is already fairly old and has plans to retire soon. The consequence is that the (female) owner has decided to get in touch with a young man from Morocco who could follow in the other guy's footsteps. Of course, there is also the one craftsman about to get a new partner in the future and this relationship is what the film is all about. The old fella is not retired yet, but he quickly disappears from the movie and only shows up briefly again here and there. The rest is all about the interaction between the two folks supposed to become a team/duo in the future. Racism is an issue here. I often have problems with the way things are depicted in these films, but here it was handled convincingly for the most part. The big guy is not really a racist, yet the society around him has had its impact on him. This becomes especially visible when we see how he talks to his new partner when the guy struggles with the Spanish/Catalan language here and there. But it is more like he searches for something that helps him act in a condescending way towards the new guy. He does not really care too much about the language. It is just the idea that you always hear so often that immigrants should learn the language. Look at how he does not mind one bit when he talks to this model there as he clearly seems to be attracted to her and she is Black even, so that says something positive about the big guy. He is not a racist, not full of hate. I think it is accurate how he descibes it that he is just generally not friendly towards new people. There are moments when the two are getting along, like when he is ready to share his food with the new fella when they locked themselves out on the balcony. He is just not a people person at all. I mean look at the interactions between him and the people they visit for their job and compare this to how Moha immediately gets along well with everybody, be it older ones like the 100-year-old fella, young ones like the two girls or even women, people from the world of beauty like the photographer. They all immediately like him and maybe this is also something that bothers the big guy.
You could even wonder if perhaps his boss being his wife too is something he is not super happy with, even if this is not a subject in this film. I still think it was not nice that she totally surprised him with the worker. Their relationship was a bit of a twist though I think. At least I did not know immediately, but at some point we see her slap his butt and I was thinking that this would be such a mess the other way around with #metoo still going strong. And briefly afterwards, we realize she is his wife. The only genre stated for this film here on imdb is comedy and it kinda makes sense. This film is mostly about making you laugh. There were quite a few moments where it worked for me. They pretty much all had to do with the people the main characters meet when they have to fix their stuff. Like how the big guy says that the old ones don't like foreigners and moments later we see everything the old guy teaches Moha and how he really seems to be fond of him while a little earlier he told the big guy that his exact age is none of his business. Moha he tells it because he wants to. Then the twin girls. That was funny how he the big guy said there's even two of them and these kids also like to play much more with Moha, even say the big guy is a really not a nice boss or so. Then of course the sequence at the photo studio. How she kisses Moha right away to say hi, how she keeps complimenting him, how she even manages to make him pose as if he was a model himself. The way to all this was quite hilarious really. Predictable, but hilarious nonetheless. Also the moment when Valero comes there and sees what's going on. Really funny, even if you could feel a bit bad for him too there as he just got insulted a bit from the other model guys hanging out there. He even had some nice small talk before that with them, but they quickly develop a dislike towards the big guy as well. Oh and of course the scenes at the psychologist. Now that was pretty hilarious no denying. How they sit there almost like a couple asking for council. I laughed a lot there. It surprised me a bit that only one other person in the film was laughing on a few occasions. Okay, admittedly we also were only four I think. Five max. But still. Of course, it is also perfectly okay to only laugh on the inside. I often do that as well.
What else can I add? Oh yeah, towards the end we find out about a little brawl and fight that was not shown on screen and this was when the old guy, the one about to retire, returned to action a bit and we see how much of a professional he is and also we find out that Moha was fighting together with him immediately when they went up against the brick layers or masons or whatever the right term here may be. You know what I mean. This was also mostly for comedic inclusion, but I did not find it that funny. It also teaches something about the characters too because it was not his longtime colleague who fought with him, but the new fella. Something about group mentality, about how to react in conflicts, in new situations. I mean Moha is in a new country even. He is open-minded. Of course, there was some drama towards the end that Moha may get fired, may also fail the language exam and this felt a bit for the sake of it to be honest. How we are led to think that Moha could maybe end up as useless as his two buddies there. I am not sure. I think they were friends and not brothers. Doesn't matter anyway. The happy ending then with the two central characters having overcome their difficulties for the moment at least felt a bit rushed too. It was good closure, but yeah, I feel like Ballús could have found better ways to finish the movie. Not that it was bad or anything, just not among the best the film had to offer. I think the first half was superior overall. I preferred Pep (the old fella) also there. Had the level stayed this way, I maybe would have thought about giving an even higher rating.
What I did like though was that the two goof-offs from Morocco are also not depicted in a positive light at all either. They are perhaps even the closest to antagonists this film has. This became clear with how they were talking about the big guy without him able to understand, but also how they are the ones constantly getting in the way of Moha's road to a better life. His road to assimilation and integration. All in all, no doubt for me here in giving this film a thumbs-up and positive recommendation. I also really liked the film's subtlety on many occasions. German filmmakers, especially when they make movies about the subjects of integration, foreign cultures, immigrants etc can learn so much from films like this one here. I hope they watch it. Unfortunately, my country keeps producing films that shove certain messages and agendas deep down our throats. Or not mine, but the throats of many who are not capable of seeing through the manipulation. But this is another story. "Sis dies corrents" is a film that is worth being seen. Probably not a much better viewing experience inside a movie theater than at home, but still I hope it can create some solid revenue. Go contribute a bit and watch if you haven't already and I am also curious how others perceive Valero, if they find him okay or also unlikable the way most characters perceive him and for whatever reason, maybe a mix of everything, including his high-pitched voice too.
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