The Job

The Job Photos

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Cast & Crew

Sandro Panseri
Domenico Cantoni

Loredana Detto
Antonietta Masetti

Guido Spadea
Portioli

Tullio Kezich
Psychologist

Mara Revel
Old Woman

Ermanno Olmi
Director

Ermanno Olmi
Writer

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Critic Reviews for The Job

Audience Reviews for The Job

• Sep 01, 2018

  This is a quiet film, but it leaves a lasting impression. For the good of his family, a young man (Sandro Panseri) has had to abandon his dream of continuing his education to become a surveyor, and hopes to get a job at a big company that's hiring in Milan. From the moment he steps into a crowded room of other applicants, we feel for him. We can already probably appreciate the anxiety associated with the life transition he's going through, but here it's amplified by the dehumanization of the process and the drones who run it. This continues on when he gets a job there, after which he's put at the same desk with an older worker, and finds that his actual duties are somewhat nebulous. It's so absurd as to be comical, especially as he encounters various forms of petty behavior and bureaucracy in the office. Lightening the mood a bit is a love interest; he sees a young woman also interviewing (Loredana Detto), and has lunch with her. Even here we sense his awkwardness as he tries to make conversation, and then later struggles to re-connect with her. Panseri registers his feelings very well, often without speaking a word, and it helps that he has such a baby face. The scene where he attends a New Year's Eve party, showing up when only an older couple is present, sits through the somewhat cheesy entertainment, and is cajoled to dance by some kindly older women feels incredibly realistic, and of course this is what director Ermanno Olmi was going for. Another memorable scene occurs after a worker dies, freeing up a desk for him, but everyone then vies for a better desk, and shifts positions. This may be a little exaggerated, but it is how it feels sometimes in a corporate setting, and the film made me think of Bob Dylan's words "twenty years of schoolin' and they put you on the day shift." There's a deadening of the soul that's taking place here, and while we suspect that the young man will be ok as his life plays out, there is a tinge of sadness in it.
  Antonius B Super Reviewer
• Feb 24, 2012

  A great film depicting office work in the post war period in Italy. The lead comes across as terribly sweet. Thanks to TIFF for including it in their Cinematheque programming.
  

  John B Super Reviewer
• Sep 25, 2011

  It's a free-spirited, free-flowing masterpiece. The details that count are the smallest, and Olmi makes them resurface under the layers that a simple camera hides. Youth is shining in a corporative environment. Who needs unbelievable coincidences or events in a movie with an honest nature? Nobody. When art imitates life and not the other way around, viewing standards are defied, yet the final outcome for the wise is highly sublime and rewarding. 99/100
  Edgar C Super Reviewer
• Dec 18, 2010

  A deceptively simple, emotional film. This coming of age tale captures the fleeting and beautiful nuances of love along with the deadness inherent in corporate work life. An unforgettable ending.
  Stefanie C Super Reviewer

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