Sacked from their jobs as shipyard workers, a group of men led by Santa (Bardem) scuffle through life as best they can, bickering, seeking part-time work, drinking too much in a local bar and struggling to keep a lid on their simmering pride. While the set-up is similar to North of England tales of life on the dole such as Brassed Off and The Full Monty, Mondays in the Sun is a grittier, more realistic take on the consequences of unemployment. Marriages suffer, alcoholism takes hold, and self-worth is eroded to the point where the men become shells of their former selves. Nonetheless, director Aranoa (who co-wrote along with Ignacio del Moral) laces the men's antics with a barbed black humour; reduced to baby-sitting to earn a few bob, Santa offers a foul-mouthed Marxist interpretation of a bed-time fairytale to a wide-eyed six-year-old. Excellent performances also help the story along, particularly those of Bardem and Tosar, but the narrative lacks a central conceit - such as the stripping motif in The Full Monty, or the band's solidarity in Brassed Off - that might afford the audience a light at the end of the tunnel. Here we have nothing more than individual acts of stubborn refusal to lie down and suffer quietly - although, if that's enough to sustain these losers in life's lottery, perhaps it should be enough for us too.
search for anything!
e.g. Fallout
or maybe 'Shōgun'
Monkey Man
Andrew Scott
search for anything!